By Opheera McDoom
SIRBA, Sudan (Reuters) - The stench of burning hung in theair of Sirba, a town in West Darfur, as its inhabitantsreturned home to find their belongings in a charred pile, theiranimals dead and their food gone.
Sudan said it attacked the three remote West Darfur townsof Sirba, Abu Surouj and Suleia to force the Darfur rebelJustice and Equality Movement out of the area and reopen roadsconnecting the population to the outside world, closed sinceJEM occupied the area in December.
A third of Sirba's straw huts were burned and the marketlooted. Animals lay dead in the sandy streets. Dust-coveredchildren swung off scorched branches watching as aid workers,journalists and United Nations-African Union peacekeepersinspected the damage on Tuesday.
"They killed my husband," said Kultoum Abdallah, 30, leftwithout a home or breadwinner to care for her three children.
"I have nothing to eat, what should I do?" she pleaded,breaking into sobs and hiding her face in her bright blue robe.She spent two days in the bush after militias on horse andcamelback looted, raped and burned.
Local leader Abakr Suleiman Ibrahim said 10 girls wereraped by militiamen, one as young as 10 years old. He estimatedthat 3,000 people were missing.
Haroun Esam Yehia said he saw the militia, known locally asJanjaweed, burn his home. "I still don't know where two of mysons are," he said. They are 15 and 12 years old.
FACTS DISPUTED
A humanitarian team had brought tents for some who losttheir homes, and a first instalment of food for 5,000 people aswell as jerry cans and plastic sheeting arrived on U.N. trucks.
Residents and the governor of West Darfur said militias hadkilled 45-47 people in the attack and burned their houses. Bothsaid the Sudanese army, which entered later, had not touchedthem. They said the dead were buried in mass graves.
Residents argued fiercely with army and security officialsover what had happened during Friday's attacks.
The army said it was fighting JEM, whose members had hiddenamong the population dressed in civilian clothes. They showeddozens of rifles, heavy weapons and Israeli-made guns they saidthey found in houses in the town which had burned in anexchange of fire.
They said they also found two cars belonging to aninternational aid group with JEM's logo written on them, fullof empty bullet shells.
But they denied any links to the militia.
"These criminal gangs hear of an impending operation andtake advantage of this," said senior army officer Abdel SalamAbdel Hamid, adding papers and identity cards they found insidethe town were proof of JEM's presence.
Many of those killed were men. In Sirba on Tuesday mostlywomen, the elderly and children had returned to the town. JEMlogos and slogans were scrawled over the town's buildings.
Residents said JEM had no permanent presence in the town,saying they painted the logos in December but never came back.
"Dr. Khalil (JEM leader) did not kill one person when hecame," Ibrahim said. "Why did the government arm theseJanjaweed?"
But he wanted more Sudanese army forces to come and protectthem against all armed groups -- militias or rebels.
"We are scared of anyone who has guns but the government."
While the facts are disputed, what is clear is that theworld's largest aid operation will have more work as civilianscontinue to be caught in the crossfire of Darfur's revolt, nowapproaching its fifth anniversary.
International experts estimate that 200,000 people havedied and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes sincemostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusingcentral government of neglect.
Washington calls the violence genocide, a charge Khartoumrejects. It blames Western media for exaggerating the conflict.Numerous peace efforts have failed because of rebel divisionsand continuing clashes.
(Editing by Janet Lawrence)
