Darfur peace talks 'threatened'

Rebels say women and children were killed in the latest attack by militias

Rebels from Darfur region in Sudan have threatened to pull out of planned peace talks after accusing the government of violating a ceasefire deal.

Rebel spokesman Abdallah Abdel Karim said the government-backed Arab militia are still raiding villages.

Mr Karim told the BBC that 32 civilians were killed and several villages torched by the militia on Wednesday.

Rebels and the government signed a 45-day ceasefire after recent talks in Chad.

Some 670,000 people, mostly blacks, have fled "ethnic cleansing" by the Janjaweed militia but remain in Sudan, with little humanitarian aid.

Disarm militia

New talks are set for 24 April to discuss political issues and seek a definite resolution of the conflict.

"The Janjaweed militia have burned down several villages just after we signed the peace agreement and many civilians mainly women and children have been killed," Mr Karim told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

He accused the government of not being serious about the ceasefire and asked the international community to step up pressure on Khartoum over the issue.

The villages said to have been attacked are northwest of the Darfur state capital Geneina near the border with Chad.

Under a truce agreed last week at the Chadian capital Ndjamena, the government and rebels pledged to guarantee safe passage for humanitarian aid to Darfur, free prisoners of war and disarm militias blamed for most of the violence there.

The US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher has said they have reports that the government-supported Arab militias are attacking parts of western and southern Darfur.

The fighting in Darfur has been raging for more than a year, with rebels claiming that the Arab-dominated government is ignoring the region.

The UN has launched a $115m appeal for humanitarian aid for Darfur.