Sudanese militia attack Darfur towns

Sudanese government aircraft, army and militia attacked three towns in West Darfur state on Friday, causing heavy civilian casualties, Darfur rebels and witnesses said.

"The government attacked the town of Abu Surouj this morning ... a direct attack with cars and horses and bombardment," rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr told Reuters from Darfur.

"Now they have continued their aggression to three towns ... including Suleia." He put the initial death toll at around 200 but said it was hard to tell because the army was still there.

The governor of West Darfur state Abu el-Gasim confirmed the armed forces had moved on Sirba, Suleia and Abu Surouj - the last a city of some 150,000 people that also houses displaced people from other attacks - to retake them from the rebels.

But he denied any casualties or bombing.

"There were a few houses burned but no wounded and no civilians have been killed. I was following the situation carefully," he told Reuters.

Abu Surouj resident Malik Mohamed said he had escaped during the attack early on Friday. "First of all I saw two helicopters and Janjaweed on horses and camels, after that I saw cars," he said.

"The helicopters hit us four times and around 20 bombs were dropped," he said by telephone.

His voice breaking, he said he had no idea where his family was. "I am outside the city and can see burning. They (the attackers) are still inside."

Residents of el-Geneina, the state capital, told Reuters they could hear Antonov planes and had seen helicopters. Darfur rebels said that until the attacks they controlled the area north of el-Geneina, where they have often fought army troops, and which aid workers have been forbidden from entering.

Ashr had said previously the rebels expected the attacks because Khartoum had again mobilised militia groups, known locally as Janjaweed, in the area.

Yehia Abakr, a resident of Sirba, told Reuters by telephone he fled the town centre when the forces attacked.

"They have killed many people," he said.

The militia stand accused of widespread atrocities and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for a junior cabinet minister and an allied militia leader accused of war crimes. Khartoum refuses to hand them over.

U.N. URGES RESTRAINT

The Sudanese army said it had attacked the area to move JEM out because the insurgents had been ambushing their forces. But it denied killing any civilians.

"The armed forces attacked the areas where the rebels are and they have rid the areas of them totally," a spokesman said.

JEM's Ashr said the rebels had not stationed forces inside the towns since capturing them late last year.

"When we attacked and took Suleia, we attacked the army there but not one civilian was killed," he said.

Two other rebel groups also said the nearby Chad-Sudan border area of Jabel Moun had been bombed.

Commander of the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Martin Luther Agwai, said he was very concerned about the government attack, urging all sides to show restraint.

"In addition to the loss of life and damage to property, there is the potential for displacement of large numbers of villagers, compounding an already critical humanitarian situation," he said in a statement.

The UNAMID force, still awaiting an agreement from Khartoum on its operational rules due to be signed on Saturday says it has only 9,000 of its required 26,000 troops and police.

It also lacks attack and transport helicopters. Ethiopia said on Thursday it would provide five of the required 24.

Rights group Amnesty International said the government attack was a "major test" for the UNAMID mission which began operations on December 31 and called on it to protect the civilians in the area.

"The Security Council ... should call on the government of Sudan to comply with international humanitarian law and ensure that civilians are protected at all times and call on JEM not to endanger civilians by stationing armed men within civilian areas," Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty's deputy Africa director, said in a statement on Friday.

"It looks like a rather large-scale operation," Jan Eliasson, U.N. special envoy to Darfur, said in New York of the latest offensive.

Witnesses said the attacks were similar to those in the early days of the Darfur conflict in 2003, when Khartoum mobilised militias to quell mostly non-Arab rebels who took up arms in western Sudan, accusing the government of neglect.