Sudanese officials have imposed a curfew in two western states after peace talks aimed at ending an escalating conflict in the western Darfur region collapsed, a Sudanese newspaper reported on Thursday.
| "It's 9 o'clock, curse you! Lights OUT!" |
Two main rebel groups launched a revolt in the arid region in February, accusing the Khartoum government of sidelining the area. The United Nations says the conflict has displaced more than 600,000 people this year. One group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), signed a truce in September, but talks failed this week with both sides blaming each other.
| Both sides always blame each other in Sudan. The Khartoum gummint is always one of the two sides, so I have my suspicions... |
The second group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), has not signed a truce or begun talks with Khartoum.
| They saw how much good it does... |
The independent al-Sahafa paper said Osman Kebir, governor of Northern Darfur, had imposed a curfew throughout his state, one of three in the remote region, which borders Chad. It did not say how long the curfew would last, but added that Kebir had ordered a general mobilisation to "confront any threat and aggression on his state". Kebir told Reuters the order was not new and had been effective since April because of "ongoing security problems", but declined to comment further. Al-Sahafa also said the governor of Southern Darfur state, Adam Hamid Musa, imposed a similar curfew in the state capital. "Governor Musa issued a decree the day before yesterday banning movement in Nyala from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.," the daily said. |