CAIRO, 21 July 2003 — Sudanese government warplanes have carried out bombing raids on two dozen villages in western Sudan, killing at least 300 villagers and wounding 200 others in the last three days, a rebel leader charged yesterday.
“Twenty-five villages in northwest Darfur have been set ablaze and bombed by Antonov-type planes from the government forces,” Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) leader Mani Arkoi Minawi told AFP by telephone.
“At least 300 inhabitants of these villages have been killed and 200 others wounded,” Minawi said. He said several people among the 200 wounded were victims of a “toxic gas” that he did not specify. The SLM was founded in Darfur in August 2001 under the name of the Darfur Liberation Movement, before using its current name in February when it began claiming responsibility for several anti-government attacks.
