Arson, looting in Sudan's Darfur: witnesses

Arson and looting broke out in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region on Wednesday after a protest against the appointment of a new governor, witnesses said.

It was the second day of unrest in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state.

Black smoke hung over the town's main market, where many shops had been set ablaze, the witnesses said.

"The demonstration is still going on and now many are setting fire in the market. Some people, I don't know if they are protesters or not, are looting the main market," one said.

Police fired tear gas, which sent some people to hospital, the witnesses said, estimating hundreds had turned out in the morning to show support for the ousted elected governor, Abdul Hamid Kasha.

President Omar al-Bashir earlier this month replaced Kasha with an appointee, Hamad Ismail, and broke off parts of South Darfur to add two new states in the region, which previously had three.

"People want Kasha," protesters chanted as they marched through the streets, witnesses said.

Many of the demonstrators were students or school children, they added.

The unrest began on Tuesday at an official ceremony for the new governor, when protesters threw stones and burned tyres.

Kasha was offered the post of governor in the newly created state of East Darfur but refused.

"There are those who are for him, and who feel that there should not have been any change," said Ibrahim Gambari, who heads the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

But he called the issue a domestic political matter and said UNAMID, which has more than 17,000 peacekeepers in the region, will work with whoever is governor.

Khartoum last year signed a peace deal in Doha with an alliance of Darfur rebel splinter factions but key groups rejected the accord.

Among its provisions, the Doha peace document calls for a referendum on Darfur's administrative structure.

Gambari told AFP the creation of the new states should not prejudice the promised vote.

"I don't believe so. If the referendum is provided for and the people choose to maintain the existing structure or go back, that will be the expression of the will of the people."

At least 300,000 people have died in the Darfur conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels rose up against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government, according to UN estimates.

Another 1.9 million people have fled their homes and are living in camps.