Militia attacks South Darfur refugee camp, say witnesses

KHARTOUM - Government-backed militias have attacked a refugee camp over the past three days, killing six people and injuring 14 during their search for rebels from Sudan's Darfur region, witnesses said on Friday.

The United Nations confirmed there had been shooting in the Kalma camp outside Nyala town, capital of South Darfur, over the past two days, but could not say who was involved.

Sudanese officials were not immediately available to comment on the raid, but have in the past denied that it was arming militias. It has previously raided the camp, saying rebels were based there.

"The government sent militias into the camp and they were looking for six people they wanted to arrest," said camp resident, Abu Sherati, who added that around 50 shacks had been burned down.

Another camp resident said raids had continued on and off for the past month. Both telephoned Reuters from the camp.

The Kalma camp is home to about 90,000 people who fled their homes in Darfur during 4-1/2 years of rape, looting and killing.

It has been the centre of conflict. Different tribes living in the camp have clashed, armed men have raided it and government authorities have tried to regain control of it.

A proliferation of weapons and breakdown of law and order throughout South Darfur state have provoked attacks on African Union peacekeepers, civilians and towns in recent weeks ahead of peace talks due to begin on Oct. 27 in Libya.

Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing central government of neglect. Only one of three negotiating insurgent factions signed a May 2006 peace deal. Since the rebels have split into more than a dozen groups.

Some rebels are meeting in south Sudan's capital to try to unite ahead of the talks. But they want the date to be postponed to give them time to decide a common position.

"The 27th October is not practical ... most of the people don't agree on that time," said Ahmed Abdel Shafie who heads a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM). "We have a lot of homework to do, we want the movements to come together."

But the joint U.N.-AU mediation team has said there will be no delay in the negotiations, which observers say have already taken too long to get off the ground.

As violence and lawlessness spirals on the ground, the first priority for the talks will be to negotiate a sustainable ceasefire.