Rebels attacked a town in western Sudan on Sunday, abducting a key tribal leader and two other prominent figures, North Darfur state governor Osman Kibir said. The rebels snatched the three men in the town of Al-La'at in Darfur, stoking further tension in a conflict between Arab militias, the government and the rebels which has created what the United Nations says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The rebels and the government signed a cease-fire agreement in April but both sides say the other has frequently broken it.
| ... which is pretty much par for the Sudanese course... |
The abducted men included Al-Sadiq Abbas, the leader of all the Arab tribes in eastern Darfur, a judge and the manager of the town's agricultural bank, Kibir said. He gave no other details of the attack.
| Sounds like a pretty significant snatch. I wonder if they'll cut his head off? |
Al-La'at is a small town to the east of the North Darfur capital, El-Fasher. Kibir said the rebels, from the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement, had violated the truce in Darfur 50 times since April.
| Did they actually shoot back that many times? |
The government is under international pressure to disarm the Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed and is accused by the rebels of conducting a campaign of ethnic cleansing.
| Some people refer to it as genocide... |
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