An army spokesman told the BBC that military planes had targeted rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement that the government said had failed to honor an announced November cease-fire. The admission came after a JEM commander said the area around the southern Darfuri town of Muhajiriya was being attacked.

A Sudanese military spokesman said the army was bombing the area to protect civilians living there, adding that government officials have received intelligence to suggest that JEM is preparing a series of attacks ahead of a ruling by International Criminal Court on whether to charge Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with war crimes in Darfur.

The tribunal in The Hague is considering whether to act on a request by prosecutors to charge Bashir with arming Islamic militias accused of carrying out widespread atrocities against black African civilians in the region.