Fourteen men died when militia attacked a nomadic tribal group in western Sudan's South Darfur State yesterday.
Bashmurqa militiamen attacked a camp of Arab Rizaiqat nomads to the north of Ed-Diein town and killed four persons, including the son of the tribe's chief.
In the ensuing battle, ten militiamen were killed before the remaining Bashmurqas fled with 3,000 head of cattle.
The African Union earlier said it had made fresh contact with the Khartoum government and Darfur rebels in an effort to revive peace talks that broke down over the weekend.
The rebels walked out after the government rejected their demands for disarming of Janjaweed Arab militias and prosecution of those suspected of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
The government is facing increasing international pressure over the bloodshed, which the UN says has displaced more than one million people and killed as many as 30,000.
The rebels, and international human rights groups, accuse Khartoum of arming the Janjaweed to loot and burn African villages in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. The government denies the charges.
