KHARTOUM – Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, announced on Wednesday that it had freed 35 government soldiers captured in recent fighting.
“We have turned over 35 prisoners of war to the Red Cross. Nine of them are wounded,” Mohammed Ali, a JEM commander, said.
International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman Aleksandra Matijevic confirmed that the humanitarian body had received the prisoners.
Darfur, an arid desert region the size of France, has been gripped by a civil war since 2003 that has killed 300,000 people and displaced another 2.7 million, according to UN figures. Khartoum says 10,000 people have died.
A total of 440 people were killed last month in that conflict, along with tribal fighting and other Incidents, according to the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission. The figure rose to 597 including tribal conflicts and other incidents.
JEM signed a framework accord in February in Doha that was hailed by the international community as a major step toward bringing peace to the region devastated by a seven-year war.
But there was no final, comprehensive peace agreement by a March 15 deadline and JEM broke off from the talks that same month, claiming ceasefire violations and resumed attacking government forces.
Source: Middle East Online