Building collapse in Darfur kills 20 soldiers

A heavy rain storm in West Darfur caused two buildings housing Sudanese soldiers to collapse, killing 20 and injuring another 30, the UN peacekeeping mission said on Wednesday. "Twenty Sudanese armed forces soldiers died and another 30 were injured yesterday in El-Geneina, West Darfur, when two buildings where they were staying in collapsed as a result of heavy rain storms," the hybrid UN-African Union mission (UNAMID) in Darfur said in a statement. The accident happened on Tuesday and the mission immediately sent all the help it could, a UN source said, including heavy lifting equipment to clear the debris. Sudan's military forces suffer from limited and outdated equipment and facilities, with the cash-strapped government in Khartoum struggling to support an army that officially numbers 188,000 officers and soldiers. Seasonal rain storms have struck other parts of Sudan's arid western region in recent weeks, including El-Fasher and Nyala, the respective capitals of North and South Darfur. The rains destroyed some 500 houses at the vast Kalma refugee camp southeast of Nyala last week, according to the independent Darfuri station Radio Dabanga.