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 Clashes erupt in Sudan despite cease-fire
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News Article by CNN posted on May 05, 2004 at 09:10:32: EST (-5 GMT)
Clashes erupt in Sudan despite cease-fire
CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) -- Fighting has erupted between Sudanese government forces and rebels in western Sudan despite a cease-fire signed last month to halt the conflict, Sudanese military and security sources said on Wednesday.
The sources in the impoverished region of Darfur, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that clashes around Abu Gamra, about 45 km (28 miles) north of the town of Kebkabiya, involved forces commanded by Sudan's army.
"We are still fighting factions of the rebels. The fighting is continuing. We have to destroy them. These are our orders," a senior Sudanese military source told Reuters, speaking by telephone from Darfur.
"This is the third day of fighting. Some of the rebels refuse to accept that they have to lay down their arms," he said.
When asked about the cease-fire agreement, he said: "These agreements are international pieces of paper. We have our responsibilities here on the ground."
Truce signing
Rebels in Darfur have accused the government of violating the cease-fire previously and blamed some fighting on pro-government Arab militia, called Janjaweed. They say the militia, who the government calls outlaws, have been armed by Khartoum.
Khartoum and two rebel factions signed a truce on April 8 to allow urgent aid to reach about one million people affected by the conflict. Aid workers say they face a race against time to deliver supplies before rains start later in May.
Another Sudanese security source in Darfur confirmed clashes with the rebels were persisting in the area around Abu Gamra. He said they involved regular Sudanese forces and an irregular force of local fighters commanded by the army.
A spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), one of the two rebel forces in the area, had no immediate comment.
U.N. officials have said the situation in Darfur is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with more than 110,000 refugees encamped in neighboring Chad.
Rebels took up arms against the government in February 2003, demanding a fairer share of power and Sudan's resources. The western conflict has raged as the government has moved closer to ending a more than two-decade-old civil war in the south.
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