Fresh Round Of Attacks By Armed Militias In Darfur

UN Mission Reports Fresh Round Of Attacks By Armed Militias In Darfur Region Of Sudan

The security situation in some areas of Sudan's South Darfur state is tense, the United Nations mission to the country reported today, after two attacks by unidentified armed militiamen earlier this week left at least one person dead.

On Tuesday armed men in one incident stopped two trucks from a non-governmental organization (NGO), robbed the passengers of their belongings and forced the convoy to return from the state's northwest to the capital Nyala. In the second attack, four armed men tried to force their way into a NGO guesthouse.

In a separate incident in North Darfur, also on Tuesday, the UN Advance Mission in Sudan (UNAMIS) said armed men fired at a truck marked with a NGO logo as it made its way to the town of Kabkabiya. No injuries were reported and the truck continued on its journey.

The round of attacks have occurred as Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns in his latest report to the Security Council on Darfur that the overall security situation in the war-torn region remains poor and political negotiations between the Sudanese Government and rebel groups have reached a stalemate.

The report says humanitarian workers are increasingly at risk of violent attacks, armed groups are re-arming in defiance of previous Council resolution, and the conflict appears to be spreading into the neighbouring state of Western Kordofan.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and at least 1.85 million people forced from their homes since rebels took up arms against Khartoum in early 2003 in protest partly at the distribution of economic resources.

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