Our Perspective (Bro. Hank & T'Boogz)  

An exiled Darfur rebel chief said on Friday that Sudanese government forces were shelling the largest refugee camp in Darfur.

Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur, a chief instigator of the Darfur rebellion, said the forces had descended on Kalma camp, 17 kilometres (11 miles) from the South Darfur capital Nyala.

"This is happening as we speak. The government of Sudan is using artillery against the people in the camp," Nur told AFP by phone from Paris, where he is exiled.

Nur said he had received information about the attack on Kalma, the largest camp in Darfur, from his field commanders.

"The strategy is the following: kill, rape, burn, put people in concentration camps. This is the regime's final solution," added Nur, who founded the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) which has since splintered into several factions.

Nur, whose military influence has faded in the recent months but is regarded as influential by the Darfur civilian population, called for action to halt the killing in Darfur.

"I am calling on the international community to stop the genocide against my people. What is happening is really very sad (and) everybody is turning a blind eye.

"We need urgent action and the solution is not going to come from Libya," Nur added.

Final settlement talks between Darfur's myriad rebel groups and Khartoum are scheduled to kick off on October 27 in Libya, in a bid to end the conflict that has raged since February 2003.

Acccording to the UN at least 200,000 people have been killed and more than two million displaced in the conflict that has spawned what aid groups describe as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.