By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – The only rebel group to sign the 2006 peace accord has recently broken the ceasefire and resumed fighting with Sudanese troops.  The United Nations Mission in Sudan said a firefight took place on Tuesday between the Sudan Liberation Army faction of Minni Minawi and the Sudanese army near the north Darfur town of Tawila.

The Minawi faction threatened to take up arms again following an alleged government-backed attack in a south Darfur town in which more than 50 people were killed.  They further allege that the recent attack mainly targeted women, children, and the elderly.  The Sudanese army denied any involvement in the attack, and says the violence was the result of “tribal fighting between the citizens of the area.”

Minni Arcua Minnawi, the head of the SLA who became presidential advisor in Khartoum after he signed the 2006 peace agreement, has called for an international investigation into the attack. “We are committed to the peace and the ceasefire but we want the government to not repeat any action like this.”

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a highly critical report accusing Khartoum of failing to approve a list of troop-contributing countries for the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force approved in July.  Ban’s report also states that the UN was being prevented from obtaining land for offices and accommodation in Darfur and that there was an “unacceptable upsurge in violence.”

Violence has been increasing in Darfur in recent weeks, threatening the new peace negotiations scheduled to take place in Tripoli on October 27.  Ban stated in the recent report: “The ongoing loss of life and displacement of civilians is unacceptable and is not contributing to an atmosphere conducive for the peace talks in Libya.”

Minnawi is in Darfur ahead of the scheduled talks and is to meet with rebel factions who rejected last year’s deal.  Since the 2006 agreement, the rebels have split into more than a dozen factions and formerly pro-government militias have turned on each other.

Since the conflict began in 2003, more than 2 million have been displaced and at least 200,000 have died.

For more information, please see:

Reuters Africa – Dafur peace faction call for probe into attack – 11 October 2007

BBC – Sudan red tape delaying UN force – 11 October 2007

AFP – Darfur rebel group scraps ceasefire – 10 October 2007

Economist – The worsening violence in Darfur – 10 October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Darfur Attack ‘Targeted Women and Children’ – 10 October 2007

For more information on the Darfur conflict, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: African Union Peacekeepers Attacked in Darfur; Ongoing Conflict in Sudan; ICC Prosecutor Demands Arrests in Sudan; Secretary General Urges Sudan President to Commit to Ceasefire; Peace Talks on Darfur Scheduled for October; UN Secretary General Visits Sudan