Armed raiders killed a policeman and wounded four others in an attack on a refugee camp in Darfur, adding to fears about the safety of displaced people in the war-torn Sudanese region, officials have said.
The attackers fired on a police post at the al-Salam camp in the south of Darfur, the base for thousands of people who have fled their homes during more than four years of revolt.
"This happened yesterday in al-Salam camp," deputy governor of South Darfur state Farrah Mustafa told Reuters from Darfur. "They killed one of our police and injured four."
Mustafa said investigations were continuing into who carried out the attack. He said 26 armed men attacked the post and tried unsuccessfully to steal police vehicles.
International experts estimate 200,000 have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes in Darfur after mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms accusing Khartoum of marginalising the remote region.
Khartoum, which puts the death toll at 9,000, mobilised militia to quell the revolt. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for a junior government minister and militia leader accused of conspiring in war crimes.
The world's largest humanitarian operation is active in the region, but aid workers complain a lack of security has hampered efforts and left some 500,000 people out of reach.
Aid officials said it did not appear the camp residents were at risk during the attack, but said they were concerned at the growing presence of arms and insecurity in the region.
"It does not look like that attack was aimed against the civilians in the camp," said Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"We are concerned by the increasing number of attacks... and the presence of armed men in IDP (internally displaced people) camps," he added.
