[An Nahar] Several people have been reported killed in an air strike in Sudan's volatile Darfur region, international peacekeepers said Saturday.
"UNAMID has received information from local sources that several people were killed by an alleged air strike while travelling from Tabit to Shangil Tobaya," a public information officer from the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
-U.N. Mission in Darfur told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"The mission is working to ascertain the veracity of this incident" on Friday, the official said.
Sudan's military front man, Sawarmi Khaled Saad, said no aircraft had been used in that area, although rebels had been active nearby.
"There is no fighting there," he told AFP.
Shangil Tobaya is about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of the North Darfur state capital El Fasher.
A U.N. panel of experts reported in February that "aerial bombardment continues to be used on civilian areas and/or to indiscriminately affect civilians" in Darfur, despite government denials.
In a 2005 resolution, the U.N. Security Council demanded that Sudan cease offensive military flights in Darfur.
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