Darfur rebel says Sudan escalating attacks before talks

By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A senior Darfur rebel leader accused the Sudanese government on Wednesday of trying to grab land ahead of October peace talks, and threatened to pull out of the negotiations unless attacks stopped.

Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim said the violence in the remote west would make it impossible for him to travel to negotiations with Khartoum, due to take place in Libya on October 27.

"The government is escalating its attacks. There are daily attacks," he said. "They are killing civilians and animals and there are displaced people. They are trying to take as much land as possible before the peace talks and the arrival of peacekeeping troops."

A JEM field commander said government aircraft had bombed villages close to a rebel-held town in north Darfur on Tuesday, killing six civilians. A Sudanese army spokesman denied the army was escalating attacks and accused rebels of starting the fighting in Haskanita by ambushing government forces.

Ibrahim said if the fighting persisted it would be impossible to attend the talks, adding: "There is a war going on and we would have to fight for our survival."

He said he was calling on the United Nations to step up its pressure on the Sudanese government to stop attacks in Darfur.

Khartoum signed a joint statement with the United Nations last week agreeing to end violence in Darfur, prepare for peace talks with rebel leaders in Libya, and help in the deployment of 26,000 U.N. and African Union peacekeepers in Darfur.

The reports of fresh violence on Tuesday came on the heels of fighting in Haskanita that the African Union said involved use of heavy weapons including helicopter gunships on Monday.