- Title: SUDAN: SLA REBEL FIGHTERS TRAIN IN CAMP
- Date: 19th August 2004
- Summary: (U3) CORCHA CAMP, SUDAN (NEAR THE BORDER WITH CHAD) (AUGUST 19, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF SLA (SUDAN LIBERATION ARMY) FIGHTERS MARCHING WITH MACHINE GUNS AND ROCKET GRENADES ON SHOULDERS 0.17 2. SLV YOUNG BOY S0LDIER MARCHING 0.23 3. SLV INSTRUCTOR SHOWING FIGHTERS HOW TO HOLD THE GUN 0.32 4. VARIOUS OF FIGHTERS PO
- Embargoed: 3rd September 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: CORCHA CAMP, SUDAN
- Country: Sudan
- Reuters ID: LVA70IOXDKBZQRHOG4XG7C50JSFT
- Story Text: Darfur rebels hold out in remote camps.
A Sudanese rebel commander in a camp in Darfur tells
his troops he is hoping for peace. But just a few hours
march away, young men say they are convinced Sudan wants to
drive them off the land.
Such is the mood in Darfur ahead of peace talks in
Nigeria starting on Monday (August 23), that the rebels
here are expressing a mix of optimism and deep scepticism.
Rebel commander Khamis Abdalla, in charge of 350 Sudan
Liberation Army (SLA) fighters near Sudan's border with
Chad, said on Friday (August 20) after addressing his
troops that he hoped the conference in Abuja would be good.
But a few hours' march from Abdalla's camp, through
tall grass and across dried-up river beds, young men from
an allied rebel group said they believed Sudan wanted to
hound them off the land to exploit riches below the
surface.
The two rebel groups in Darfur took up arms at the start
of 2003 in the region, the size of France, where African
villagers vie with nomadic Arab horsemen for meagre
resources.
Since the fighting started, up to 50,000 people have
died and more than a million driven from their homes,
mostly into camps dotted across Darfur and neighbouring
Chad.
Chad mediated a truce between the government and the
rebels in April. Sudan then pledged in July to disarm Arab
militias, known as the Janjaweed, who have been attacking
villagers but both sides have since accused each other of
violence.
Refugees from Darfur are trickling into Chad
complaining of more attacks by the Janjaweed. Under intense
international pressure, all sides agreed this month to hold
another round of peace talks in Nigeria's capital Abuja.
Sitting on a branch back in the camp, a young boy,
Khamis Idriss Abacar, clutched an assault rifle as he
talked. He said he was 16, but looked far younger.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None