Government militias break Sudan ceasefire

THE US State Department said it had unconfirmed reports that militias backed by the Sudanese government were continuing to launch attacks in Darfur despite a cease-fire agreement.

Some 670,000 people, mostly blacks, have fled "ethnic cleansing" by the Arab militias but remain in Sudan, with little humanitarian aid.

The 45-day ceasefire came into effect on Sunday under a deal reached between government forces and two rebel groups.

The United Nations says the fighting which started in February 2003 has affected more than one million people and forced more than 100,000 refugees over the border into Chad.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the government-backed Arab militias, who have been driving black Africans out Darfur, appeared to be continuing their attacks.

"Early reporting indicates some diminution in the fighting ... but we still have reports that the government-supported Arab militias are attacking parts of western and southern Darfur.

"There are also reports of continuing aerial bombardments .... In addition, we understand the militias remain in the vicinity of the internally displaced persons camps, occupying land that they had claimed from Africans, and effectively preventing [people] from returning to their homes."

A rebel commander in Darfur accused the government of breaking the spirit of the cease-fire by attacking two villages shortly before hostilities were officially scheduled to stop, but the government denied this.

Both the rebels and the Khartoum-based government said the cease-fire was holding.

Khartoum and the rebels signed a 45-day cease-fire deal on Thursday and agreed on access for relief groups into the arid region where the UN has repeatedly warned of a possible humanitarian disaster.

The UN has warned of "ethnic cleansing" and the EU military committee chairman Gustav Hagglund said "Sudan is on the list of the UN [for some form of peacekeeping mission]".

He said the EU could send troops to Darfur, if mandated by the UN.

The UN has launched a $115m appeal for humanitarian aid for Darfur.

Following the ceasefire, a high-level UN team is due in Sudan later this month to assess the needs of those who have fled their homes.

The 10-member team led by Jan Egeland, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, will visit each of the three regions of Darfur from 18-21 April.

Sudan analyst Eva Dadrian, from the Africa Analysis newsletter, says it will be hard for the government to reign in the Arab militia the Janjaweed which have been leading the attacks on black African civilians in Darfur.

"Darfur is a very vast region and the government will have difficulty to control these people. The Janjaweed are everywhere. They hide in the mountains," she told the BBC.

The fighting in Darfur has been raging for more than a year, with rebels claiming the Arab-dominated government is ignoring the region.

The refugees say attacks on their villages by helicopter gunships are followed up the Janjaweed on horses and camels, who rape, kill and loot.

The Sudanese government has denied the allegations.