Militias attack Darfuris refusing census, kill 5

By Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Former Darfur rebels accused government militia fighters on Thursday of killing five Darfuris after they refused to take part in Sudan's census.

The census, the first in Africa's biggest country since 1993, is seen as a vital step towards holding the first democratic elections in 23 years in 2009 and for deciding how to share power and oil wealth.

Many in Darfur, where fighting has raged for five years, reject the count because they distrust the Khartoum government.

A spokesman for Minni Arcua Minnawi, a former rebel who is now a presidential assistant, said people in camps around Shereia in South Darfur had refused to register when census officials came to take a count on Wednesday.

"Because of that the Sudan army sent militias to attack those people," said Mohamed Dirbeen, the military spokesman of Minnawi.

It was not possible to independently verify the reports.

Sudan's army said it had no links to any militias attacking Minnawi's forces in South Darfur. A spokesman blamed any violence on continued clashes between Minnawi and a breakaway rebel faction.

The head of the census monitoring commission, Abdel Bagi Gailani, told Reuters there were difficulties in Shereia.

"One supervisor has been detained," he said, but said he had no further details immediately to hand.

The census has so far gone ahead without major violence in most of Sudan but many in Darfur's camps have refused to take part, holding almost daily demonstrations against it. They want peace and security in Darfur before any count.

South Sudan, a semi-autonomous region since the 2005 peace deal to end civil war with the north, has reluctantly agreed to the census but has reserved the right to reject its outcome.

International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur early in 2003 accusing central government of neglect. Khartoum says only 10,000 have died.

Abu Sherati, a spokesman for Darfur's displaced, told Reuters some 13,500 people had arrived in camps around the state capital fleeing recent clashes in South Darfur. The United Nations said it was still trying to verify the numbers but confirmed that people were fleeing fighting there.

(Editing by Randy Fabi)