KHARTOUM, 18 November 2003 — Sudan has accused a rebel group in the west of the country of killing two aid workers from a government agency and kidnapping three others who worked for an independent relief body, a newspaper reported yesterday.
The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, which agreed to a cease-fire with the government in September, denied the charge. Aid agency said staff were missing but their fate was unclear. The United Nations estimates some 500,000 to 600,000 people have been driven from their homes in the Darfur area since the SLM/A emerged as a fighting force in February, accusing the government of marginalizing the arid and poor region.
“The Humanitarian Aid Commission accused the Sudan Liberation Army of killing two employees working in the humanitarian field, and abducting three others,” the independent Al-Sahafa daily said, saying the incident took place last week.
It quoted state-run commissioner Sulaf Al-Din Salih as saying the rebels killed a driver and a relief worker working for the aid commission and abducted three others who worked for MEDAIR, a Swiss-based agency, in Northern Darfur state.
MEDAIR official Tristram Lewis told Reuters four Sudanese MEDAIR aid workers and one aid commission employee went missing last week just north of Geneina town, near the border with Chad.
