Student Dies as Worsening Darfur Violence Extends to Khartoum

Worsening violence in Sudan's Darfur spilled over into the Sudanese capital, where a university student was killed Tuesday at a protest calling for peace in the troubled western region.

The unrest was the most serious in Khartoum since last September, when thousands of people took to the streets after the government slashed fuel subsidies.

In a statement on the Interior Ministry website, police did not say what killed the student at the University of Khartoum.

Police "got information that two students were injured and taken to hospital. One of them died," said the statement.

It added that police had already pulled back after earlier firing tear gas when the demonstrators tried to move their rally off campus.

An Agence France Presse reporter saw police fire tear gas and beat some of the protesters when they attempted to take to streets outside the university.

Students retaliated by throwing stones at the officers.

"Peace, peace for Darfur!" they called, adding: "We want to bring the criminals to the ICC!"

One student, who asked not to be named, said one of his colleagues had been wounded in the leg and taken to hospital.

President Omar al-Bashir and his Defense Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein are both wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

During last September's protests demonstrators called for the downfall of the regime, and Amnesty International said security forces were believed to have killed more than 200 people, many of them shot in the head or chest.

Authorities reported a toll of less than half that.

Tuesday's campus unrest came as U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay voiced alarm on Tuesday over armed groups targeting civilians in South Darfur state.

Around 45 villages have been attacked in the state's Um Gunya area since the end of February, she said in a statement, citing witness testimony.

Sources in the area earlier told AFP that the Um Gunya violence appeared to be carried out by the so-called Rapid Support Forces, a militia which has backed government combat operations elsewhere in Sudan.

The Um Gunya unrest is one of three major outbreaks of violence in various parts of Darfur, an area about the size of France, in recent days.

Local sources told AFP that militia forces loyal to Musa Hilal, who was a reputed chief of the Janjaweed militia formed in response to Darfur's rebel uprising 11 years ago, were now in control of Saraf Omra, a town about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of the West Darfur capital El-Geneina.

"From what we've heard Musa Hilal's... in charge of the town and the government has no control there," after fighting between his group and forces loyal to North Darfur governor Osman Kbir.

The incident is representative of how Darfur's conflict has changed since rebels from black tribes rose up in 2003 seeking an end to what they said was the domination of Sudan's power and wealth by Arab elites.

In response, government-backed Janjaweed militiamen, recruited among the region's Arab tribes, shocked the world with atrocities against civilians.

Analysts say Sudan's cash-starved government can no longer control its former Arab tribal allies, whom it armed against the rebellion.

As a result, the militia have turned on each other in a struggle for resources. They have also been blamed for kidnapping, carjacking and other crimes.