A splinter rebel group clashed with African Union monitors in Sudan's Darfur region, wounding five soldiers, as the two main rebel groups held peace talks with the Sudanese government in Nigeria today.
It was the latest in a series of clashes involving the National Movement for Reform and Development (NMRD), a breakaway group demanding a seat at the Abuja talks, where only the two principal rebel groups are represented.
An AU spokesman in Khartoum said the injuries were serious and that three of the soldiers had been transferred to Khartoum for treatment.
He said the AU did not know who was behind Tuesday's attack, south of Kulbus, near the border with Chad. But the NMRD's political leader, Khalil Abdallah, said his group had been attacked by government helicopters.
"Then the AU came along in their vehicles. They started shooting at us first, so we returned fire in self defence." Hours earlier, he said his group had seized the town of Sirba in West Darfur state, killing 37 soldiers and police, in a bid to gain a seat at the talks.
An aid worker said only seven people had been wounded. The NMRD has warned the more than 6,000 AU troops in Darfur not to enter areas it controls. In October it kidnapped dozens of troops, who were later released.
Fighting between the main rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), and militiamen in South Darfur also killed at least two rebel fighters on Wednesday, AU sources said. The sources said the SLA were threatening to storm the town of Marla if cattle stolen by the militiamen were not returned.
In the nearby town of Gereida, the United Nations has reported that up to 15,000 people have been forced from their homes in clashes between the SLA and militias. The violence has led some observers to say any deal reached in Abuja will not translate into peace on the ground.
Talks to end the conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives in Darfur and displaced two million people, opened in Abuja yesterday. Negotiations on power sharing began on Wednesday afternoon.