Sudanese forces attacked a Darfur displaced persons camp today, leaving up to 27 dead and scores wounded, rebel leaders said.
Kalma camp in South Darfur, home to some 90,000 people who have fled their homes during five years of fighting, has long been a centre of unrest.
The government has accused armed rebel supporters of taking refuge in Kalma while residents have accused government-backed militias of mounting a string of raids on the settlement.
Yahia El Bashir, the British-based spokesman for one faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, said government troops had gone into the camp to try to clear it of residents.
"This is a message of defiance to the international community. We call on the UNAMID peacekeepers to do their job and defend the internally displaced persons," said Mr Bashir.
UNAMID, the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force deployed in the vast region in west Sudan, has been severely hampered by shortages of equipment and troops.
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir denies accusations that his forces are responsible for genocide in Darfur, and Arab and African states say moves by the International Criminal Court to indict him could hinder efforts to bring peace.
Leaders of two rebel factions said that government troops in around 100 vehicles surrounded Kalma early this morning and opened fire.
"I am inside the camp Kalma. Now there is still shooting," Abakr Suleiman, a senior tribal leader inside the settlement, said. "There is heavy shooting. They came into the camp and killed people. There are houses burning."
UNAMID spokesman Kemal Saiki said there were unconfirmed reports of an exchange of fire between Kalma residents and government authorities who tried to mount a search operation in the camp, close to south Darfur's capital Nyala.
UNAMID officers were on their way to the camp to prepare a full report, he added.
Reuters