By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Darfur rebel faction that has a pactwith Sudan's government accused the army on Friday of bombing avillage this week even while President Omar Hassan al-Bashirwas in the region making a call for peace.
Tension has grown in Darfur since the InternationalCriminal Court's prosecutor said on July 14 he would seek anarrest warrant for Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimesagainst humanity in Darfur.
Bashir has led a diplomatic campaign to prevent anyindictment and called for peace during a visit to Darfur thisweek, but Minni Arcua Minnawi's Sudan Liberation Movement saidSudanese planes had bombed a village while he was there.
Minnawi's rebel faction, the only one to sign a 2006 peaceaccord, said attacks occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday. It saidone village was attacked on Wednesday while Bashir wasaddressing cheering crowds in the nearby city of el-Fasher.
"Government planes were bombing the village Karbala 40 km(25 miles) south of el-Fasher," SLM military spokesman MohamedDirbeen told Reuters on Friday. "The bombing killed threepeople and injured eight."
A rival SLM faction led by Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur,which is still fighting the government, said planes had alsobombed them in the central Jabel Marra area.
"From July 20 until today, our areas in Jabel Marra havebeen bombed -- this is continuing," commander Ibrahim al-Helwutold Reuters from the area. "They hit a hospital in one area."
An army spokesman could not confirm the reports ofbombings, which are regularly denied by the army. Reports ofbombing are difficult to confirm in the vast region the size ofFrance.
A joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur(UNAMID) confirmed reports of daily bombing in the past four orfive days but could not give further details.
"We do not have forces in those areas," said spokesmanGeorge Ola-Davies.
Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur in 2003,accusing central government of neglect. International expertsestimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million beendriven from their homes.
Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militia to quell the revolt.Those militia are accused of widespread rape, murder andlooting.
Dirbeen said the bombed village of Karbala was in an areacontrolled by the forces of Minnawi, who has said Bashir lacksthe political will to implement their 2006 peace deal.
Following the deal, Minnawi became a presidential assistantbut he left his office in the presidential palace months ago toreturn to Darfur, where he is in touch with other rebel groups.
During his speech on the day the SLM says the bombinghappened, Bashir urged Minnawi to return to Khartoum, promisingfull implementation of the 2006 deal.
(Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)