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/ 1 June 2008

US envoy talks of ‘apocalypse’ in Sudan town

Burned and looted huts stretch as far as the eye can see in Sudan’s oil-rich town of Abyei, now empty of civilians, the United States special envoy to Sudan, Richard Williamson, said on Saturday. Williamson, who toured Abyei on Friday, said he saw ”scorched earth” devastation in the town where heavy fighting last month sent tens of thousands of civilians fleeing.

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/ 28 May 2008

Sudan: ‘There is no return to war’

Military leaders and officials from north and south Sudan have agreed there would be ”no return to war” after more than a week of bloody clashes over the disputed oil town of Abyei, a senior northern official said on Tuesday. Tens of thousand of civilians fled Abyei last week during clashes between northern and southern troops.

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/ 20 May 2008

Fighting resumes in Sudan flashpoint

Fighting resumed on Tuesday in Abyei, the flashpoint oil-rich border area between north and south Sudan whose status remains contested three years after the end of civil war, aid workers said. ”It began early this morning and now it seems like the fighting has stopped,” Kouider Zerrouk, the deputy spokesperson for the United Nations mission in Sudan, said.

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/ 19 May 2008

Call for world to do more to stop Darfur violence

A leading human rights group accused the international community on Monday of not doing enough to deter Sudan from new attacks in Darfur, where it cited a return to ”scorched-earth” policies. Human Rights Watch said the United Nations Security Council should impose sanctions on Sudanese officials behind attacks on civilians in Darfur in February.

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/ 14 May 2008

Thousands attend Sudan ‘victory’ rally

Thousands of people on Wednesday demonstrated in Khartoum at a government-organised ”victory” rally to denounce Darfur rebels who staged a daring attack on the capital as agents of Israel. Waving flags and banners, crowds of men, women and schoolchildren converged outside army headquarters to hear a speech from President Omar al-Bashir.

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/ 13 May 2008

Sudan at turning point after rebel attack

An unprecedented Darfur rebel attack on Khartoum is a turning point that could persuade Sudan’s rulers to negotiate seriously with their foes or push Africa’s biggest country towards disintegration. Sudan-watchers believe the key is international involvement and say much more pressure is needed on both rebels and the government.

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/ 11 May 2008

Sudan cuts diplomatic relations with Chad

Sudan broke off diplomatic relations with Chad on Sunday after an attack by Darfur rebels on the capital, Khartoum, that the government said was supported by Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno. On Saturday, the rebels fought Sudanese troops in a suburb of Khartoum in a bid to seize power, but officials said the attack was defeated.

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/ 5 May 2008

Sudan forces accused of bombing school

Sudanese government bombs have hit a primary school and a busy market place in Darfur, killing at least 13 people, including seven children, two aid organisations said on Monday. The Sudanese army has repeatedly denied bombing in the area, which would be a violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution banning all offensive flying.

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/ 29 April 2008

Darfur rebels accuse Sudan of bombings

Darfur rebels accused the government on Tuesday of bombing areas under their control and said attacks this week showed Khartoum was not serious about seeking peace. But the army denied the accusations, which come during the visit of a Sudanese delegation to London to follow up on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s offer to host Darfur peace talks.

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/ 25 April 2008

Dozens killed in Sudan tribal clashes

About 95 people have been killed in tribal clashes in south Sudan, which have also targeted equipment and facilities used in an historic nationwide census, local press reports said on Friday. Clashes broke out on Tuesday in the southern Lakes State between two rival branches of the Dinka tribe after a dispute over cattle.

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/ 17 April 2008

Banditry forces WFP to cut Darfur food rations

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday it will cut food rations by half for up to three million people in Darfur starting next month because attacks on its trucks have reduced stocks. The agency said 60 WFP-contracted trucks have been hijacked in the western Sudanese province since the start of the year.

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/ 10 April 2008

Gunmen attack peacekeepers in Darfur

Gunmen have attacked police from the African Union and United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur for the first time, injuring one officer by beating him with a rifle butt, a UN spokesperson said on Thursday. The unarmed police were stopped at gunpoint as they returned from a routine patrol.

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/ 7 April 2008

Rights group says sexual violence rife in Darfur

Girls as young as 11 have suffered rape by Sudanese government forces and armed groups across Darfur more than five years after war began there, a rights organisation said on Monday. Human Rights Watch said sexual violence is rife in Darfur, where neither Sudanese security forces nor international peacekeepers are properly protecting women and girls.