Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in south Darfur on March 18, 2009. The president called for the Darfur rebels to lay down their arms and talk peace with the government.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
KHARTOUM, SUDAN Sep 03 2010 15:21
A Darfur rebel group said on Friday that the Sudanese army had launched a major offensive against territory under its control, killing 74 people, most of them civilians.
An army spokesperson denied that government troops had been involved in any fighting with the rebels.
"On Thursday, from 2pm until nightfall, the army attacked Tabra district in the south-east of Jebel Marra [Darfur's fertile central plateau] and the offensive resumed this morning," said Ibrahim al-Helu, spokesperson for the hard-line wing of the Sudan Liberation Army loyal to Abdelwahid Nur.
"Seventy-four people were killed and 152 wounded, most of them civilians," Helu told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Completely baseless
But an army spokesperson reached by AFP denied that troops had been involved in any fighting.
"These claims are completely baseless. There have been no clashes between us and them," said Sawarmi Khaled Saad.
The joint UN-African Union (Unamid) peacekeeping force, which patrols Darfur, said it had also received reports of dozens killed in an attack, but was still trying to reach the spot.
"We received reports that yesterday at about 3 o'clock [12pm GMT], men on camels and horses entered a market 31km north-west of Tawila [in northern Darfur] and started firing randomly at people," said Unamid spokesperson Chris Cycmanick.
"Dozens of civilians are reported to have been killed," he said.
Since the ethnic minority rebels rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum in 2003, about 300 000 people have died in Darfur and 2,7-million fled their homes, according to the UN.
The government says 10 000 people have been killed. -- AFP
Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-09-03-darfur-rebels-say-dozens-killed-in-army-offensive
2 comments:
We need to spread Darfur Awareness as much as possibly can. I'm gonna try to get as many people to watch Attack on Darfur when it comes out to show them how serious and horrible all this is.
Both the UN & African Union need to stop with the death poll reports and start doing something with the actual terrorists committing murders. I just watched the trailer for the Attack On Darfur film (that the person below me mentioned) and I was 'wowed.' If anyone watches this it should give them the urge to speak up for these innocent Sudanese victims.
http://bit.ly/960ZVb
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