حركة تحرير السودان تعلن رسميا سيطرتها على مدنية شعيرية

Quote: Sudanese rebels capture southern Darfur town CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Sudanese rebels have captured a southern Darfur village, placing more than 30,000 civilians at risk and forcing humanitarian workers to flee, the United Nations said Tuesday. Rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army, which has been clashing with government forces for more than two years, overran the town of Sheiria on Monday, the U.N. spokesman said. "Sheiria has fallen to the rebels," said the spokesman who declined to be identified further because of political and security concerns . Sudanese officials have called on the United Nations to urge the rebels to leave Sheiria, where 33,000 civilians live, in an apparent bid to stave off a government bid to retake the town, the spokesman said. "If there is a bid to recapture the down, the implications for the people are bad as they may get caught in the crossfire," the spokesman said. If the siege lasts more than four days, the humanitarian situation could plummet with civilians having limited access to food, water and health care, especially as three non-U.N. international aid organizations were forced to leave Sheiria after the capture, the spokesman said. African Union-brokered talks between the Sudanese government and two main Darfur rebel groups are taking place in the Nigerian capital of Abuja and the capture of Sheiria will likely be raised during the discussions. The Darfur conflict broke out in early 2003 after rebels from ethnic African tribes took up arms against the Sudanese government in Khartoum, complaining of discrimination and neglect. The formerly Islamist-oriented government was accused of enlisting Arab tribal militias to attack the rebels. The militias, known as the Janjaweed, have been accused of unleashing a campaign of murder, rape and arson against civilians.