U.N.: 15,000 flee southern Darfur

The U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that fighting in Muhajeria and Shearia between Sudanese government forces, and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), drove over 15,000 people north to the Zam Zam camp.The water supply to the camp is becoming strained with displaced people arriving there every day, OCHA has said.The government of Darfur has waged a brutal counter-insurgency against militias for the past six years, a war that some international critics have characterized as genocide.An estimated 300,000 people have been killed through combat, disease or malnutrition, according to the United Nations. An additional 2.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes because of fighting among rebels, government forces and the violent Janjaweed militias.