(Adds new U.N. secretary-general report, paragraphs 14-19) By Opheera McDoom EL-GENEINA, Sudan, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Darfur rebels said on Wednesday that 15 civilians had been killed in bombing by government planes near the Chad border, part of an offensive to rid the area of insurgents. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on all sides to show restraint and humanitarian officials warned some 160,000 civilians dependent on aid in the area north of West Darfur's capital el-Geneina would be severely affected by the fighting. "There were about 15 civilians killed by the aerial bombardment in Jabel Moun," Sheikh el-Din Mahin, humanitarian coordinator for the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), told Reuters by telephone from the area. "The mountain is very big so we have not been able to gather all the injured or dead yet," he added. Aid officials estimate some 20,000 Darfuris fled to Jabel Moun following a Feb. 8 army attack on three nearby towns. The Sudanese army said it had launched a "cleansing" operation in the rebel-held mountainous region to open the way for humanitarian access and to rid it of Darfur and Chadian insurgents, saying they were attacking civilians. "We are in the east and the west of the mountain. The situation is stable and completely under our control," an army spokesman said. He said they did not yet have figures for any civilian or rebel losses during the fighting, but that nine army soldiers had been killed and 15 injured. The rebel JEM and Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) in Jabel Moun said they still controlled the area and had pushed back three government offensives. Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing the central government of neglect. But rebel divisions and the government's mobilisation of mostly Arab tribal militia has created a chaotic mix of armed groups and a breakdown of law and order in Sudan's remote west. Darfur's revolt promoted a resurgency of neighboring Chad's civil war, with both capitals accusing each other of fanning the flames of the conflicts. Rebels said Jabel Moun was quiet Wednesday, but remained out of bounds for humanitarian workers and the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission. DETERIORATING SITUATION U.N. chief Ban called for an end to the fighting and a return to peace talks. "A negotiated settlement to the Darfur conflict cannot take place amid continuing violence and the massive displacement of civilians," he said. He called the bombing of a largely empty refugee camp near Jabel Moun "unacceptable." Rebels said four were injured in that bombing Monday and U.N. officials said at least one woman died after losing both her legs in the attack. Separately, Ban said in his latest monthly report to the U.N. Security Council that the security situation in Western Darfur had deteriorated over the last two months. He condemned attacks on civilians like those on Feb. 8 as "grave violations of international humanitarian law". Ban's report also called on Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to urgently confirm acceptance of the proposed composition of the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, as soon as possible. Western countries have accused Bashir of dragging his feet to try to block the full deployment of peacekeepers. Among the restrictions Khartoum has placed on UNAMID is that as much of the force as possible should be African. Sudan has already rejected the offer of a Nordic engineering unit. Only 9,000 of the expected full deployment of up to around 26,000 UNAMID peacekeepers have been deployed in Darfur. International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes in Darfur. Khartoum blames Western media for exaggerating the fighting and puts the death toll at 9,000. (Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau at United Nations) (Editing by Catherine Evans)
An African Union-U.N. soldier stands in front of an old African Union APC during a patrol in West Darfur in El-Geneina February 19, 2008. Sudan on Monday bombed an emptied refugee ...
