Sudanese begin new offensive in Darfur region

DARFUR rebels said Sudanese planes and troops attacked villages in the western region yesterday, hours before the UN Security Council voted on the deployment of UN peacekeepers to the region.

Rights groups and Washington have accused Sudan’s Khartoum-based government, which opposes the UN troop deployment, of a huge military build-up in recent weeks.

The rebels said the new offensive began two days ago as government forces attacked and occupied Kulkul, about 35 km (22 miles) north of Darfur’s main town, el-Fasher.

“Government forces have moved north of Kulkul with about 90 vehicles and are attacking the area of Um Sifir, bombing with Antonov planes,” said Jar el-Neby, a rebel leader from a faction which did not sign a May peace deal.

A Sudanese armed forces spokesman said the army did have forces in Kulkul but the only operations were “to confront an attack by the (rebel) National Redemption Front (NRF)”.

The NRF are a new alliance of rebels who did not sign the May deal.

Although the Security Council voted to create a United Nations peacekeeping force, troops will not be deployed without consent from the Khartoum government. The vote was 12-0 in favour, with abstentions from Russia, China and Qatar.

So far Sudan has refused to allow the UN to replace or absorb an African Union force in Darfur, which has been unable to stop the humanitarian crisis in the lawless west of the country.

Escalating violence has reduced aid access in Darfur to its lowest level since the conflict began three and a half years ago.

The world’s largest aid operation, with 14,000 workers helping 2.5 million people in camps, is under threat in Darfur with the latest death of a staff member of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) east of the mountainous Jabel Marra area.

Around 7,000 African Union forces are struggling to stem the violence, called genocide by Washington.

Many in Darfur reject the AU-brokered May accord, signed by only one of the three negotiating rebel factions and rejected by tens of thousands in Darfur.

The UN resolution would see 22,500 UN troops drafted in to “use all necessary means” to protect UN personnel and facilities and prevent attacks against civilians.