Darfur rebels ambush Sudan government troops

24 Feb Lebanon news report reveals that rebels ambushed Sudanese troops and Sudan's military bombed and destroyed eight villages in Darfur, officials said Wednesday.

The rebel ambush reportedly took place on Tuesday in Graida, a town about 100 kilometers south of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, said a member of a commission monitoring the ceasefire. Full Story.
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Arms depot blast in Juba, South Sudan

24 Feb Reuters report says an explosion at an ammunition dump in a military training centre in the south Sudanese town of Juba has killed 24 people. An Army statement says the blast has been caused by a warehouse fire and it does not believe "hostile action" is involved.

Juba stayed in Government hands throughout southern Sudan's two decades of civil war, with a large garrison to protect it from rebels.

"The extreme rise in temperature led to the explosion of an ammunition dump in the city of Juba which led to the death of 24 people," a police statement released by the Interior Ministry said.
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Two eastern Sudanese rebel groups merge

23 Feb AFP report: Two eastern Sudanese rebel groups, the Beja Congress and the Free Lions, have merged to form a new party called the Eastern Front, officials from the organizations announced here Wednesday.

The "suffering of the people of Eastern Sudan ... can come to an end only under one leadership and unified programmes and objectives," said Beja Congress chairman Mussa Mohammed Ahmed.

"We are ready for peace talks with the government based on the Naivasha model, the peace accord between Khartoum and South Sudan," he said, flanked by Free Lions chief Mabruk Mubarak Selim at a joint news conference.
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Sudan peacekeepers would cost $1B in first year

23 Feb Associated Press report reveals the cost of deploying UN peacekeepers to help enforce an agreement ending a 21-year civil war in Sudan will top $1 billion in the first year, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report Wednesday.

The estimate is based on the phased deployment of 10,130 military personnel, 755 civilian police, 1,018 international staff, 2,623 national staff and 214 United Nations Volunteers, Annan said.
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Canada willing to contribute to UN peacekeeping mission for Darfur

22 Feb Brussels, Belgium a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Martin said he raised the issue of ongoing violence on the Darfur region in Sudan. He said it's clear the African Union has not been able to organize a peacekeeping mission for the region and the United Nations will have to step in.

Canada is willing to contribute equipment and military instructors, Martin said. - via Canadian news.