(Adds reports of raid on Darfur's Zamzam camp)

By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Sudanese pro-government militia fighters on horseback have killed six people and abducted five in a raid on a village in the Darfur region, rebel leaders said on Wednesday.

But a spokesman from Sudan's armed forces dismissed the accusations of an attack on the village of Bere on Tuesday as "definitely incorrect", saying there was no military or militia activity in north Darfur.

The accusations come at a sensitive time, when Sudan's government is trying to block efforts by the International Criminal Court's prosecutor to put President Hassan al-Bashir on trial for war crimes and genocide in Darfur.

Rebels say attacks by government forces have been increasing and accuse Khartoum of trying to seize potential oil production sites and key transport routes.

Leaders from three insurgent factions said fighters attacked the North Darfur settlement of Bere on horseback on Tuesday, days after a government assault on nearby rebel bases.

Insurgents said the militias were part of a government force that attacked rebel positions in the villages of Disa and Birmaza over the weekend, and was now preparing new attacks.

International experts say more than five years of fighting has left 200,000 people dead in Darfur and driven 2.5 million from their homes.

LOOT AND STEAL

Suleiman Marajan, a field commander with the faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) led by Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, said the militia attacked Bere early on Tuesday and killed six people, all civilians.

"They went there to loot and steal camels and cattle. They also took three women and two children," he said by phone from Darfur. He said he did not know why the five were abducted.

The SLA's Unity faction and the insurgent United Resistance Front also reported an attack. Sherif Harir of the SLA's Unity faction said the militias and government troops in the area were reinforcing.

Sudan's armed forces said soldiers had been mounting patrols to protect humanitarian convoys in the region, but denied taking part in any attacks.

A spokesman for African Union/U.N. peacekeepers said he could not confirm the rebels' reports of fighting, but said officers of the UNAMID force had seen considerable army activity nearby that "indicated that intense military activity was taking place".

Elsewhere in Darfur, rebels said armed government militias forced their way into Zamzam camp for displaced people, close to El Fasher, the capital of north Darfur, late on Wednesday, and injured four residents as they looted huts and market stalls.

The camp is known as a centre for supporters of Minni Arcua Minnawi, the leader of another branch of the SLA who was the only Darfur rebel leader to sign a peace deal with Khartoum in 2005.

"UNAMID must carry out a full investigation of this attack," he told Reuters. "Otherwise the Sudan Liberation Movement will not stay silent."

Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur in early 2003 accusing the central government in Khartoum of neglect. The Sudanese government, which says the international media has exaggerated the conflict, mobilised militias to quell the revolt. (Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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