UN Official Warns of Militarised Darfur Camps

LONDON - Camps teeming with frustrated refugees in Sudan's Darfur region have become militarised and present a danger that cannot be ignored, a U.N. official was quoted as saying on Thursday.

The U.N.'s emergency relief coordinator, John Holmes, told the BBC the presence of weapons in the camps and the proximity of the Sudanese military outside refugee centres made for a potentially explosive situation.

"If you have large numbers of people in camps, you have the government of Sudan's military presence in the area, there are bound to be clashes from time to time," Holmes was quoted as saying on the BBC Web site.

"The politicisation and militarisation on the ground in the camps is a fact of life you can't ignore," he added.

Last week, the Sudanese military attacked Kalma Camp, in South Darfur, where it said rebels behind deadly attacks on police were hiding.

Holmes denied the camps had become rebel bases, but he said young men in the centres had grown frustrated and politicised.

Some 2.5 million people have fled their homes since rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum in early 2003, charging the government with neglecting its vast western region.

The government responded with ground and air assaults, and by enlisting the help of mostly Arab militias which have been accused of looting villages, raping women and girls, and killing civilians.

A struggling African Union peacekeeping force has been unable to stem the violence but the United Nations has approved a 26,000-strong AU-UN force for Darfur, which officials hope to begin deploying in the coming months.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due to arrive in Khartoum on Monday to discuss the force with the Sudanese government and the possibility of talks to end the conflict.