Battle Slows in Darfur, U.N. Says

Fighting between government and rebel troops in Sudan’s western Darfur region has decreased in the last month, but pro-government militias still attack, rape and abduct villagers, the United Nations’ chief envoy to Sudan said.

Jan Pronk spoke Saturday during a visit to Rumbek in southern Sudan, where he was meeting the leader of the main southern rebel group that signed a peace agreement with the government this month to end a 21-year civil war in the south. The deal does not cover the Darfur conflict in western Sudan.

“The violence is still perpetrated by pro-government militias and other armed groups that are very difficult to control,” Pronk said. “They attack villages, abduct people and increasingly use rape as a tool of war.

“But between the government and the rebel movements, there is more adherence to the cease-fire than a month ago -- and that is a step forward,” Pronk said of the Darfur conflict.

Sudan’s government and the two main rebel groups in Darfur signed cease-fire agreements in April and November, meant to enable aid workers to care for those affected by the violence. But they have frequently violated the pacts.

Fighting in Darfur began in 2003 and has displaced 1.6 million people and killed tens of thousands.