Peace Talk Massacre In Sudan

Rival militiamen massacred 25 Sudanese fighters when they arrived for peace talks in southern Sudan, the fighters' spokesman said Wednesday.

The United Democratic Salvation fighters were killed after they arrived for the talks Sunday in Benitu, said the group's spokesman, Makuac Teny Youk.

They had gone to negotiate with Paulino Matep, the leader of a rival, pro-government militia.

"Our officers, at the invitation of Paulino Matep, went to talk about arrangements for implementation of the cease-fire," Youk said. When they arrived at Matep's quarters, "they got killed, all of them."

There was no independent confirmation of the killings.

Paulino Matep has signed a peace accord with Sudan's central government and heads an independent, pro-government militia in the south.

His rivals in the United Democratic Salvation Front also have signed a peace deal with the central government, but operate independently in the south.

The two groups have been fighting for months for control of an oil-rich southern region, and had hoped to find a way to end the bloodshed, Youk said.

Sudan is torn by a 16-year civil war between rebels from the Christian and animist south and government forces of the mostly Arab and Islamic north.

An estimated 2 million people have died, many from war-related famine, and hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes.