From the Sudan Times, May 12:

PARIS — A Sudanese rebel leader warned the Sudanese government today to stop the arbitrary arrest of Darfur people in the Sudanese capital following the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attack.

The Sudan Human Rights Organization (SHRO) issued a statement on Monday saying that ethnic persecution against Darfuris spread to the capital in the aftermath of the foiled rebel coup.

SHRO said that the security forces started "to exercise a large-scale racist campaign against all Darfuri... in the National Capital, as part of a retaliation campaign."

Abdel-Wahid al-Nur, the leader of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) said he received alarming reports about the mass wave of retaliation against Darfuris in Khartoum by the security agents.

"The Sudanese regime should stop arresting people according to their skin color because this would only deepen the wounds of civilians who moved from Darfur to Khartoum to escape the ongoing repression that started five years ago" Al-Nur said.

In a report published today Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Sudanese security forces arrested more than 100 people since the rebel attack on Khartoum on May 10 that left dozens of civilians dead or severely injured.

Al-Nur pointed out that rebel attack against the capital can be traced to the lack of equality among citizens of the same country. He called on Khartoum to "work seriously for peace and endorse the value of equal citizenship rights."

The SLM chief also said Khartoum should immediately put an end to the violence against civilians in Darfur by implementing the signed ceasefire accords.

Abdel-Wahid regretted the death of Sudanese civilians everywhere in the country before saying that "it is a vicious circle started by the government and unless they show seriousness there will be no end to it."

International experts also say more than 300,000 were killed and 2 million have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Darfur, a region that is roughly the size of France.