New Clashes in Darfur Signal Continuing Tensions

New Clashes in Sudan’s Darfur Region Signal Continuing Tensions, UN Mission Says

New York, Jan 30 2006 5:00PM

The security situation in Sudan’s western Darfur region remains tense, with new incidents reported there over the weekend that left three Sudanese soldiers wounded and two attackers dead, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) said today.

A group of armed men believed to have come in from Chad attacked a Sudanese Army camp in the village of Armakol, not far from El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, on Saturday, reportedly using machine guns, artillery and rocket-propelled grenades, according to the mission.

There were also reports of clashes yesterday among factions of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) in the Kulbus area of West Darfur, UNMIS said.

The mission was deployed to support the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the Government of Sudan and the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Nairobi, Kenya, a year ago. It also has a mandate from the UN Security Council to provide some support to the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as AMIS.

Last week, reacting to growing bloodshed in Darfur, Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and resolve their differences at the negotiating table. Talks among Darfur’s parties have been taking place in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), issuing a report on human rights violations, also recently called on the country’s Government to end a prevailing culture of impunity.

ENDS

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