A Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) rebel passes an abandoned building in the desert west of El Fasher, North Darfur, November 8, 2004.
REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
(Adds U.N. bulletin and police report)
KHARTOUM, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Fighting between Darfur rebels and government forces near the northern town of Kutum has killed seven people and insurgents said on Sunday they shot down two army helicopters in the area.
Despite a May peace deal, violence has increased in Sudan's remote west after rebels who reject the accord formed a military alliance and renewed hostilities with the government.
"The government troops and Janjaweed militia attacked our positions and then attacked a village, killing five men and ... two women," Darfur rebel commander Jar el-Neby told Reuters via satellite telephone.
He said the government and their allied militia, known locally as Janjaweed, attacked rebel positions near Kutum three days ago and the village of el-Goba, about 16 km (10 miles) east of Kutum town, on Friday.
In a separate statement sent to Reuters on Sunday, Darfur rebel official Esam el-Din Hajj said the insurgents had shot down two army helicopters during the clashes.
An army spokesman confirmed heavy clashes with the rebel National Redemption Front (NRF) but denied the attack on the village and that any helicopters or planes had been shot down.
"We did not use any helicopters or planes during the clashes so of course they could not shoot them down," the spokesman said.
"Four soldiers were killed and around 20-25 injured," he said.
He said the NRF had lost many troops and vehicles and eventually retreated. A U.N. bulletin on Sunday said reports indicated a government helicopter and an Antonov plane had bombed three nearby villages.
A police report on Sunday said an attack had killed four policemen in Darfur's main town of el-Fasher. It was not clear who had attacked them but the town has been the scene of clashes between armed groups in recent weeks.
Experts estimate 200,000 have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes in Darfur.
Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing central government of marginalising the arid west. The international community says Khartoum armed militia to quell the revolt.
Those militia stand accused of a campaign of rape, murder and pillage dubbed genocide by Washington. Khartoum denies genocide but the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating alleged war crimes in the region.
