Heavy fighting ongoing in Darfur, say peacekeepers

Jan 25, 2011, 17:16 GMT

Nairobi/Khartoum - Heavy clashes have broken out between a faction of a Darfur rebel group and Sudanese armed forces, the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in the restive province said Tuesday.

The mission, known as UNAMID, reported in a statement that a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), led by Minni Minnawi, began battling the Sudanese army on Monday evening and that clashes were ongoing.

The Sudanese army has stopped peacekeepers from entering the battle zone, around 45 kilometres south of the capital of North Darfur, El Fasher.

UNAMID could not give any casualty figures, but another faction of the SLA, which said it was also involved in the fighting, claimed a government helicopter had been shot down.

The clashes come less than a week after the government said 13 rebels and eight soldiers were killed in battles with the SLA and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

Fighting has decreased in intensity since the conflict began in 2003, when predominantly black African tribes took up arms against what they called decades of neglect by the Arab government in Khartoum.

However, violence has flared in recent months amid faltering peace talks.

UNAMID chief Ibrahim Gambari said he was 'very concerned' by the latest outbreak of violence and called on the parties to return to the negotiation table.

According to United Nations estimates, more than 300,000 people have died and almost 3 million been displaced as a consequence of the still smouldering conflict. Khartoum says only 10,000 people have died.

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