(Updates with later JEM comments, adds state news agency) By Opheera McDoom EL-FASHER, Sudan, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Darfur rebels said on Sunday U.N.-African Union peacekeepers could investigate attacks by the government on three West Darfur towns but warned against stationing international troops in the region. The government, in its largest offensive in months, on Friday attacked Abu Surouj, Sirba and Suleia towns, forcing an estimated 200,000 from their homes -- 12,000 of whom have fled into neighbouring eastern Chad. "If they want to come for an investigation they are welcome but they cannot stay - these are my areas and I am coming back to take them," Rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim told Reuters by telephone from Darfur. Earlier Ibrahim had said any troops from the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) sent into the area faced being attacked. The joint force, which took charge of peacekeeping in Sudan's west on Dec. 31, has already come under fire from government troops in the volatile area north of West Darfur state capital el-Geneina, an area which has seen the fiercest battles in recent months. The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said about 12,000 Darfuri refugees had crossed into eastern Chad after Friday's air and ground attacks. "It's mainly men so far but they told us that more refugees are on their way, mostly women and children," UNHCR spokeswoman Helene Caux said. She said they planned to move them to refugee camps further inside Chad already housing some 240,000 Darfuris. A refugee from Sileah told UNHCR that ground attacks by the Janjaweed militia, allegedly supported by Sudanese Antonov aircraft, nearly destroyed Abu Surouj and reportedly caused heavy damage to four camps for internally displaced people. DEATH TOLL FEARS A tribal leader from the area, Ibrahim el-Nur, told Reuters at least 44 people were killed in Sirba town. He was still waiting for figures from Abu Surouj, while witnesses say they saw nine people killed in Suleia. All three towns are in West Darfur near the border with Chad. Residents fear the total death toll could be as high as 200. Sudan has banned international aid workers from moving to the area in the past few months so reports are difficult to verify. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said one of their Sudanese staff was killed in Suleia and they were still trying to contact other employees. "What we're really concerned about is the local population and some of our staff," said ICRC spokeswoman Iris Meierhans. International experts estimate 200,000 have died and 2.5 million displaced in five years of conflict in Darfur. Washington calls the violence genocide, a term Khartoum rejects. They blame the West for exaggerating the conflict. The attacks have been condemned by U.N. officials, which Khartoum called "double standards" on the state news agency SUNA. It said the army was "defending the sovereignty of the homeland," from JEM, who attacked government outposts in the area last December forcing a withdrawal of all state authorities. Ashr said the population from the entire area had been forced from their homes. "They have no water. Their humanitarian situation is so bad and we are appealing to the international community to help them," he said. (Additional reporting by Andrew Heavens and by Sven Egenter in Zurich; editing by Matthew Jones)
French General Jean-Philippe Ganascia, the European Union Force Commander in Chad looks on as troops erect a tent at their base in N'Djamena February 8, 2008. A delayed European Union peacekeeping ...
