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Sudan

Sudan: Peacekeepers plan no-fire zone in Darfur town

By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Peacekeepers said on Wednesday they are hoping to set up a no-fire zone to protect 30,000 civilians caught in the middle of clashes between Sudan army troops and rebels in a Darfur town.

The U.N. says at least 30 people have already been killed and thousands displaced in three weeks of fighting over the south Darfur settlement of Muhajiriya that has been condemned by senior U.N. and U.S. officials.

Fighting has escalated in Darfur in the build-up to a decision by the International Criminal Court on whether to issue an arrest warrant against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of masterminding war crimes in the region.

Darfur's joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force on Wednesday said it was hoping to persuade the government and fighters from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to sign an agreement to respect a 1 km square no-fire zone in Muhajiriya.

"Our priority is to protect civilians," said UNAMID communications chief Kemal Saiki. "The idea is to get everyone to agree that you don't bomb in the zone, you don't shell, you don't use small arms to shoot bullets into the zone."

He said UNAMID leaders had already discussed setting up the zone around their base in Muhajiriya with Sudan government and armed forces leaders in Khartoum.

He added the UN/AU representative in Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, was hoping to fly to neighbouring Chad later on Wednesday to discuss the plan with JEM leaders.

Sudan's government on Tuesday said it was still determined to seize Muhajiriya by force and rejected an offer from JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim to withdraw his troops if peacekeepers assumed control there.

Sudan's armed forces earlier this week asked UNAMID to withdraw a 196-strong unit of peacekeepers from their base in Muhajiriya ahead of the planned assault.

But UNAMID has said it will stay in the town to protect inhabitants and displaced Darfuris, many of who have taken shelter around UNAMID's base during attacks and government bombardments.

The U.S. envoy to the United Nations Susan Rice on Tuesday said the United States was "gravely concerned" about reports of government bombardment around Muhajiriya, adding that the Security Council was working on the wording of a demand for a ceasefire.

International experts say 200,000 have died and 2.7 million been driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan's government in 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting the region's development. Khartoum says 10,000 have died.

(Editing by Richard Balmforth)