KHARTOUM: At least 27 people were killed in government attacks on three West Darfur villages, their families said ,as they called for an end to raids which were leaving their homes in flames. The Sudanese army said it launched the assault on Abu Surouj, Sirba and Suleia on Friday to rid the area of rebels from Darfur s Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

An army spokesman said one soldier and many rebels were killed, while four soldiers were injured. The head of the Erenga tribe which dominates Abu Surouj and Sirba, Ishaq Nasir, said yesterday they had confirmed 27 dead, but expected the actual death toll to exceed rebel reports of 200. An exact number was hard to confirm because attacks continued, he said. These dead -- most of them are tribal leaders or teachers or people working for the state. Are these people rebels? asked Yehia Mohamed Ulama, a tribal leader from Abu Surouj.

He added that JEM had no troops in the area. Ulama and other tribal elders had left their hometowns, now burnt to the ground, to come to Khartoum and complain about militia attacks last month. The visit saved their lives. If someone kills the leadership of the tribe they mean to wipe it out completely, said Bashir Ibrahim Yehia, a member of parliament for the area. He said 90-year-old Erenga tribal leader Daoud Idriss was killed in his house with his entire family on Friday along with school teachers who were visiting them. Anyone who comes to power needs to rule with justice not with killing. These criminals need to be brought to justice, Yehia said, calling for a government investigation. The Erenga have historically backed the Sudanese government and have not been part of Darfur s five-year-old revolt by rebels who say the region has been marginalised by the authorities in Khartoum. UN CONDEMNATION The United Nations condemned the attacks.

All parties must adhere to international law, which prohibits military attacks against civilians, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon said in a statement. International experts estimate the fighting between rebels, the government and its local militias has claimed 200,000 lives. Washington calls the violence genocide. Khartoum rejects the term and puts the death toll at 9,000. Rights group Amnesty International called on the government to halt attacks and urged rebels to leave civilian areas. Sheikh el-Din Mohamed, who escaped from Suleia, told Reuters by telephone from Darfur that he saw a bomb flatten a hut with a woman and her three children in it. He said he also saw attackers kill a driver from the Sudanese Red Crescent as well as four other civilians.

There were probably more as we could hear firing from other areas but we had to run, he said. The UNHCR said yesterday an estimated 4,000 Sudanese had fled after bombings in West Darfur and crossed over into Chad. The refugees are in the region of Birak, some 50 km from Guereda, UNHCR spokeswoman Helene Caux said. Four thousand have crossed today into Chad following bombings in Darfur yesterday (Friday). There might be more, she said yesterday, adding that a UNHCR team was going to Birak today to assess the situation and the refugees needs.

Source : UNI