Five killed in bomb attack on civilians in Darfur

Five people have been killed in a bombing raid on civilians in the western Sudanese Darfur region, according to the African Union mission in Sudan.

Saturday’s attack on villages near Kutum in North Darfur, was carried out by a government Antonov plane, according to the AU force commander, Luke Aprezi. The raid came two days after the AU mission and the United Nations mission held meetings with rebel commanders in the area.

The attack followed an incident on 25 December when armed militia in about 30 vehicles looted Kineen village (8 km Northeast of Kutum), stealing livestock, the AU mission said. The bush land surrounding the village was reportedly set on fire while women were sexually harassed.

Similar attacks had occured on 23 December on Tim village, in which 18 people were reportedly killed and eight others kidnapped.

Violence was also reported in South Darfur, where AU soldiers in Gereida (100 km south of Nyala) found the bodies of two women. A displaced woman from nearby Dar Es Salaam camp reported seeing an armed militiaman open fire on the dead women.

The assaults came just days before the newly instated UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, said the Darfur crisis was one of his top priorities. "I will pay my highest attention to this," the Secretary-General said on Tuesday.

"By engaging myself in the diplomatic process, I hope that we will be able to resolve peacefully, as soon as possible, this very serious issue," he told reporters in New York.

An estimated four million people in Darfur depend on humanitarian aid as a result of fighting between government forces, allied militias and rebel groups, according to the UN. At least 200,000 people have been killed and two million others forced to flee their homes over the past three years.

Currently, the UN is providing a US $21 million "light support package" to the AU force in Darfur, including the deployment of 24 police advisers and 43 staff officers. The UN hopes that a force of 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers will eventually be deployed to support the 7,000 African troops currently in the region.

eo/jm