Hundreds killed in Darfur fighting

Nearly 400 people have been killed in recent clashes between the Sudanese army and Darfur's main rebel group, according to Sudanese state media. Most of the people killed -- more than 300 -- were members of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). Eighty-six soldiers were also reportedly killed in the fighting earlier this week. United Nations peacekeepers in Darfur confirmed that there were at least two major clashes between the two sides. The under-equipped peacekeepers, with a mandate to cover an area the size of Spain, said they were also investigating reports of a third clash in Daba Tago, near the north Darfur settlement of Mellit. Violence has been increasing in Darfur in recent months. The United Nations said that nearly 600 people were killed in the region in May, making it the bloodiest month in Darfur in nearly two years.