Armed raiders shot dead at least two people in a Darfur displacement camp on Wednesday, residents and aid workers said.
Residents at Kalma camp had staged a protest against Sudan's national census on Tuesday, the day counting started, and said they would refuse to take part because they could not trust government organizers.
The attackers tried to force their way into the camp in south Darfur at 4 a.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) and then fired into the settlement, camp resident representative Abu Sherati told Reuters.
"The bandits are still just outside the camp and we can still hear shooting. Everyone is very scared," he said, speaking from the camp by phone in mid-morning.
One official from an aid group operating in the area, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was still unclear who the attackers were and whether the raid was linked to the census.
'Tension is certainly high'
"But tension is certainly high at the moment because of the census so any small incidents are likely to escalate," said the official. Aid groups suspended work in Kalma following the violence.
Kalma, a base for more than 90,000 people forced out of their homes by fighting, has been targeted by pro-Khartoum militias in the past.
Sudan's census has been hailed as a vital step towards Sudan's democratic elections in 23 years, due to be held in 2009 under the terms of a north-south peace deal. It will also be used to help in the distribution of power and wealth.
Many Darfuris have vowed to boycott the census because they doubt the results will be accurate. Sudan's semi-autonomous South has said it may not be bound by the results because thousands of displaced southerners would not be counted.
Census counters
In a separate incident, aid workers said census counters were fired on, assaulted and warned not to return as they worked in rural areas southwest and southeast of Nyala, capital of south Darfur, on Tuesday.
The U.N. said on Tuesday the latest figures showed more than 300,000 people might have died during five years of fighting in Sudan's remote west. Khartoum puts the death count at 9,000.
The conflict started when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in 2003, alleging neglect from the central government.
Khartoum mobilized mostly Arab tribes to quell the uprising.
Abu Sherati said one man and one woman had been shot dead in Wednesday's attack. A third displaced Darfuri had been seriously injured and was being treated by the International Red Cross.
Aid workers said at least three people had died.
Residents called for help from a nearby contingent of U.N./African Union peacekeepers, Abu Sherati said, and were still awaiting a response. A spokesman for the UNAMID peacekeeping force was not available for comment.
Census monitors said they had been expecting disruptions to the census process in Darfur.
"We heard about the incident in Kalma," said head of the census monitoring and observation committee, Abdel Bagi Gailani.
"We can't say whether this was linked to the census ... but (the news) was not something that astonished us."
The census will continue for two weeks with final results not expected before September.
