At least 150 killed in Darfur violence, aid groups say

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Hundreds of Arab militia fighters, many riding motorbikes or driving vehicles mounted with guns, attacked a village in Sudan s western Darfur region on Sunday, torching homes and shops and killing at least 150 people, aid groups and UN officials said.

The violence, which was later spread to a nearby town, was the latest in a series of clashes between Arab and ethnic African groups in Darfur in recent months, and one of the country's deadliest episodes in years. The military seized power in Sudan in October, which highlighted the growing security vacuum that experts say has worsened in combination with the political crisis in the country.

The General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, an aid agency, said 168 people had been killed and another 98 injured in the violence around Kereneik in West Darfur.

A UN official in Sudan said the UN had received reports of 150 and 200 deaths. The attack started at dawn when hundreds of armed men surrounded Kereneik before opening fire, later going house to house and killing civilians, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the lack of permission to speak publicly.