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| Dozens killed in Sudanese army offensive - maybe |
| 2004-02-16 |
| Dozens of civilians have been killed in Sudanâs western Darfur region in the past 48 hours in a major offensive staged by army troops and their militia allies, a rebel spokesman said yesterday. Bahr Ibrahim, spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement â the largest rebel group active in Darfur â said troops and militia had âkilled dozens of civilians and burned more than 200 villagesâ in the offensive launched Thursday. Ibrahim said army Antonov aircraft had bombarded the area north and northeast of the village of Kuttum, in the north of the region â an area he said was entirely populated by civilians. The spokesman accused the Sudanese army and its militia allies of pursuing a policy of âethnic cleansingâ, saying the attacks â which were ongoing yesterday â had targeted villages whose residents belonged to non-Arab ethnic groups. âThey also destroyed every water source in this arid area,â Ibrahim said. âThe local population fled to the bushes or the mountains.â Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir said Monday that the army had crushed a year-old rebellion in the Darfur region, declaring an end to hostilities there and offering a general amnesty to rebels who surrender. But on Thursday, a spokesman for the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said that the rebels had retaken several towns and road links from government forces in the semi-desert area. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |