Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
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March 25, 2007

Sudanese Police, Darfur Rebels Die in Fightings
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=16CA34E:A6F02AD83191E1600232A3FB8D86A6569574F7DCC14957C0 SLM spokesman says
fighting will undermine already shaky peace agreement between
government and former rebels  Eight former Darfur rebels and two
Sudanese police officers were killed during clashes on Saturday
outside of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Noel King in Khartoum
reports that the former rebels of the Sudan Liberation Movement say
they were attacked by Sudanese police and call the fighting a grave
threat to the Darfur Peace Agreement.



A spokesman for Darfur's former rebel Sudan Liberation Movement says
police attacked a home for wounded SLM soldiers in Omderman, burning
three cars and looting computers.



SLM spokesman Saif Haroun said eight former rebels were killed in the
fighting.









Sudan Liberation Movement leader Minni Minnawi in the Darfur town of
Al-Fasher, Sudan (file)The SLM, lead by Commander Minni Minnawi, was
the only Darfur rebel faction to sign on to the Darfur Peace Agreement
with the government of Sudan, last May.



Spokesman Haroun told VOA the fighting will undermine the already
shaky peace agreement between the government of Sudan and former
rebels.



"This kind of behavior will destroy everything," said Haroun. "We
signed the peace agreement with the government. If the government
keeps behaving like that I think its going to be very serious and very
dangerous for the agreement itself."



The SLM said it did not know why the house was attacked.



The Reuters News Agency reports that Sudanese authorities said the
former rebels would not turn over two of their members who were
involved in a traffic accident.



The former rebels are, on paper, part of a coalition government with
Sudan's powerful Islamist regime.



Commander Minni Minnawi rose to the position of senior advisor to
Sudanese President Omer Al Bashir.



But since the signing of the accord, SLM members have complained that
they have been marginalized within the administration.



The Darfur conflict has raged for four years. Other Darfur rebel
groups have refused to sign onto the peace deal saying it does not
meet their demands of wealth and power sharing.