1 killed as bandits storm El Fasher, N Darfur- ex-rebels

Dec 9 2006 Reuters report - excerpt:

Scores of militia gunmen attacked a market in El Fasher, the main town of Sudan's Darfur region on Saturday, killing one civilian and looting shops, a former rebel group and a witness said.

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), the only group that signed a May peace deal with the government, said scores of vehicles carrying gunmen had stormed the town.

"This force is opening fire in the town and the town is in deep chaos now," SLM spokesman Saif Haroun told Reuters.

A U.N. official said there was shooting in El Fasher but had no further details. The African Union, which maintains a 7,000-strong force in Darfur, had no immediate comment.

Haroun said the gunmen who stormed the market on Saturday "were not known to the people of the town" but were "probably Janjaweed fighters."

"There is no presence of groups that rejected the (peace) agreement in the region," he said. "They appear to be coming from the direction of the Chadian border," he said.

Note, "probably" Janjaweed. How can you tell the difference between a bandit and a janjaweed? Werner says you can't. Since they don't wear uniforms but do carry firearms they're all bandits, politically motivated or not.

See Soldier of Africa: Answers to Questions by Werner, a South African soldier currently blogging while serving in Darfur - excerpt:

How can you tell who is a bandit and who is a janjaweed?
Answer: I wish I knew. The one is politically motivated and the other is not.