Sudan bombs Darfur rebel areas: African Union

Khartoum, Dec 31: Sudan has bombed Darfur rebel areas, a dayafter African Union officials visited the insurgents and secured theircommitment to a ceasefire, an AU statement said today.

Luke Aprezi commands a 7,000-strong African Union force in Darfurwhich, hampered by lack of equipment and funds, has struggled to stemthe violence in remote west Sudan. The fighting has driven 2.5 millionpeople from their homes and killed an estimated 200,000.

''For the first time I visited them (rebels) in the field in UmRai (North Darfur) ... and I was able to get a ceasefire commitmentfrom them,'' Aprezi told Reuters. The meeting was held two days ago andhe notified the government of it, he said.

''Unfortunately (Sudan's army) went and bombed the area and it looks like I led them to the area to get bombed,'' he said.

A May peace deal was signed by only one of three negotiating rebelfactions. Many groups rejected it, formed a new military alliance andrenewed hostilities with the government.

One Darfur rebel faction confirmed there had been bombing attacksin North Darfur in the past two days. A government army spokesman saidthere was no confirmation of this in Khartoum.

''Darfur commanders cannot undertake bombing operations withoutthe knowledge of central command in Khartoum,'' the spokesman toldReuters. ''But we in central command are completely committed to theceasefire.'' Aprezi could not confirm that the ceasefire he had securedwith the rebels would still stand.

''I hope that this statement will give them confidence and theystill keep it up,'' he said. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir says theDarfur ceasefire does not apply to the new rebel alliance which wasformed after the May deal was signed.

The escalation in fighting since May has threatened the aidoperation in Darfur, the world's largest, and led to the evacuation ofhundreds of humanitarian workers.

UN and AU officials confirm that the new rebel alliance hasinflicted heavy losses on the Sudanese armed forces, and say this hasprompted Khartoum to remobilise militias, known locally as Janjaweed,to protect their bases.

The mostly non-Arab rebels in Darfur took up arms in early 2003,accusing the central government of neglect. The United States has saidthe way the government tried to crush the rebellion was genocidal, acharge Khartoum rejects. The International Criminal Court isinvestigating alleged war crimes in the region.

Reuters