The US deplored Monday’s incursion by Sudanese government forces in a refugee camp in Darfur that killed at least 25 people, and called on Khartoum to investigate the incident.
“We are concerned by indiscriminate weapons fire by Sudanese government forces on the Kalma internally displaced persons camp in South Darfur, Sudan,” US Deputy State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in a statement.
“Attacks on vulnerable populations in Sudan are deplorable and violate international law,” he said. “We call on the government of Sudan to thoroughly investigate this incident and ensure that such actions are not repeated.”
A deadly firefight killed at least 25 people and wounded scores after Sudanese security forces thrust into one of the largest camps for displaced people in Darfur searching for weapons and sparking clashes, witnesses and rebels said.
UN officials said there were unconfirmed reports of 32 people dead and more than 100 wounded being treated at clinics in the camp.
“The United States deplores all violence in Darfur, and reminds the government of Sudan and all parties of their commitment to peace under the Darfur Peace Agreement,” Wood said.
A military spokesman said government troops were fired on first.
“They were surprised by heavy gunfire from within the camp. There was an exchange of fire and a number of victims,” spokesman Sawarmy Khaled said without elaborating.
He said the fighting had stopped by Monday night.
In a subsequent statement carried by the official SUNA news agency, the government said troops entered because of a persistent state of lawlessness in the camp and reports of huge arms shipments.
“Sudanese forces faced huge resistance with a large number of citizens blocking the entry of the forces with barricades. Civilians were brought into the streets as human shields,” the statement said, adding that seven civilians and five soldiers were “hit” in the ensuing gun battle.
It did not specify whether any were killed.
The assault comes as Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir faces genocide charges for alleged attacks on ethnic Africans in the country’s troubled western region.
The International Criminal Court is expected to decide whether to issue a warrant for al-Bashir’s arrest within months.
Kalma, which sits about 25km from the South Darfur provincial capital of Nyala, is home to about 90,000 residents.
Sudanese soldiers stormed the camp, a sprawling mix of mud huts and scrap-plastic tents, and immediately opened fire on civilians, said Nimr Abdel-Rahman, spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Army, a Darfur rebel group.
He said by telephone from Darfur that 45 people were killed and 135 wounded.
He was about 50km from Kalma, but said the information came from witnesses and aid workers on the ground.
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