Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Darfur militias raid rebel bases

By Agencies ( Wednesday, September 21, 2005)

At least 30 people have been killed in fresh fighting in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.


Pro-government Arab militia launched an offensive at the weekend against the headquarters of one of Darfur's rebel movements, the Sudan Liberation Army.


Talks aimed at finding a solution to the area's two-and-a-half-year long conflict are continuing in Nigeria.


Over two million people have been made homeless by the violence.

This latest violence is being seen as a retaliation for a rebel attack three weeks ago.


Then, the SLA killed nomadic camel herders and seized 3,000 of their animals.
But when mediation failed, pro-government Arab militia launched an offensive against the rebel stronghold of Jebel (Mountain) Marra.
The relationship between the Sudanese government and the Arab militia is complex.


Khartoum has admitted arming them, but now says they are bandits outside of their control.

The last few weeks have seen an upsurge of fighting in Darfur.

Militias have clashed with the rebels and aid agencies and humanitarian convoys have been targeted.

Against a backdrop of this violence, talks aimed at achieving a lasting settlement in Darfur continue in Nigeria.

Five previous rounds of discussions have made little difference to the situation on the ground.

No comments: