KHARTOUM: Sudanese pro-government militia fighters have killed six people and abducted five in a raid on a village in the Darfur region, rebel leaders said yesterday.
But a spokesman from Sudan’s armed forces dismissed the accusations of an attack on the village of Bere on Tuesday as “definitely incorrect,” saying there was no military or militia activity in north Darfur.
The accusations come at a sensitive time, when Sudan’s government is trying to block efforts by the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor to put President Omar Bashir on trial for war crimes and genocide in Darfur.
Rebels say attacks by government forces have been increasing and accuse Khartoum of trying to seize potential oil production sites and key transport routes. Leaders from three insurgent factions said fighters attacked the North Darfur settlement of Bere on horseback on Tuesday, days after a government assault on nearby rebel bases.
Insurgents said the militias were part of a government force that attacked rebel positions in the villages of Disa and Birmaza over the weekend, and was now preparing for new attacks. Suleiman Marjan, a field commander with the faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) led by Abdel Wahed Mohamed Nur, said the militia attacked Bere early Tuesday morning and killed six people, all civilians.
“They went there to loot and steal camels and cattle. They also took three women and two children,” he said by phone from Darfur. He said he did not know why the five were abducted.
The SLA’s Unity faction and the insurgent United Resistance Front also reported an attack. Sherif Harir of the SLA’s Unity faction said the militias and government troops in the area were reinforcing. Sudan’s armed forces said soldiers had been mounting patrols to protect humanitarian convoys in the region, but denied taking part in any attacks.
A spokesman for African Union/UN peacekeepers said he could not confirm the rebels reports of fighting, but said officers of the UNAMID force had seen considerable army activity nearby that “indicated that intense military activity was taking place.”
