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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
SUDAN: Uneasy calm after 11 killed in Darfur clashes
KHARTOUM, 3 Oct 2006 (IRIN) - Clashes between fighters loyal to the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) have left at least 11 civilians dead in Gereida town, South Darfur State in western Sudan, sources said on Tuesday.
"The AU [African Union] military group in Gereida reported that SLM combatants had driven most of the men out," Noureddine Mezni, an AU spokesman, said in Khartoum. "The combatants were busy looting the properties of the men and raping the wives."
Fighting began late last week, when rebels from the JEM attacked the SLM members, prompting some agencies to withdraw staff from the town.
An uneasy calm returned to Gereida over the weekend. "Information from the area is scanty, but the fighting took place in town," an aid worker in Darfur told IRIN on Tuesday. "It has definitely calmed down in the last two days, but the situation remains extremely tense."
Gereida Camp is home to 130,000 internally displaced Darfuri civilians. "The situation is very, very tense and we are very concerned about this situation," Mezni said.
Animosity between rebel groups has run high since one faction of the SLM, led by Minni Minnawi, signed an AU-brokered peace agreement with the Sudanese government in May. Other groups, including the JEM, refused the deal, saying it did not meet their basic demands.
According to the United Nations Mission in Sudan, the security situation has particularly worsened in Gereida.
Despite international pressure to allow a UN mission to replace the cash-strapped AU, Sudan has rejected the proposal, with President Omar al-Bashir calling it an attempt to recolonise his country.
On Tuesday, the Sudanese government said it may not extend the mandate of the AU mission in Darfur beyond December. The statement was a response to the UN envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, who suggested last week that the AU should remain in the country into 2007.
"Sudan has no problem with the AU forces, but what is available now is an extension until December," Fadlalla Ibrahim, the acting spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday.
At least two million people have been driven from their homes in three years of fighting in Darfur between the Sudanese government, allied militias and rebel forces. The conflict began when rebels in Darfur attacked government positions, saying the remote region remained undeveloped due to Khartoum's neglect.
Sudan is charged with arming militias known as Janjawid to crush the rebellion using a campaign of rape and murder. Sudan denies these charges.
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This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
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