Sudan confirms Darfur bombing wave

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Sudan's military Wednesday confirmed rebel reports that it is carrying out a wave of bombings in the Darfur region.

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.