In brief: Three civilians held by rebels in Darfur

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Three civilians with a joint United Nations/African Union peacekeeping force are being held by rebels in Sudan’s Darfur and are accused of being spies, a spokeswoman for the mission said Monday.

A group of 55 peacekeepers including 50 Senegalese troops were blocked by the rebel Justice and Equality Movement on Sunday from passing through a village in northwest Darfur, UNAMID spokeswoman Susan Manuel said.

While most of the group was allowed to move ahead on Monday, a Yemeni policeman and two Sudanese translators were kept behind, she said.

UNAMID deploys around 20,000 people in Darfur, 8,000 of whom are troops and another 5,000 of whom are police.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003, but has largely tapered off since 2009. The U.N. estimates up to 300,000 people died and 2.7 million have been displaced due to the conflict.

Soldiers explode mines exposed by flooding

SANTIAGO, Chile – Chilean authorities say flooding from heavy rains dislodged anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, floating two of the explosive devices onto the Pan-American Highway near the border with Peru.

Soldiers were called in and exploded the land mines without incident, said Gov. Ximena Valcarce of Arica and Parinacota.

Traffic was suspended on the highway and on a railway, and fishermen were being denied access to the nearby ocean while troops and police checked for other dislodged land mines. About 20,000 people use that part of the road every day.

Officials said the land mines were among thousands laid in the 1970s by the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet during a time of tensions with Peru.

North Korean envoy arrives ahead of talks

BEIJING – Pyongyang’s top nuclear envoy arrived in Beijing today ahead of the first nuclear talks with the United States since the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il.

First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan is due to meet U.S. envoy Glyn Davies in Beijing on Thursday.

It will be the third round of such talks since July but the first since Kim’s death in December. The talks are aimed at restarting six-nation aid-for-disarmament negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear program.

Relatives of fire victims force way into morgue

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Hundreds of relatives of inmates who burned or suffocated to death when a fire raged through a Honduran prison forced their way into a morgue Monday to demand the remains of loved ones.

The group pushed into the morgue, broke into a refrigerated container and opened at least six body bags, said Melvin Duarte, spokesman for the prosecutors’ office.

Police used tear gas to chase the people from the morgue, Duarte said. He said no one was injured during the confrontation in Tegucigalpa, although at least one woman fainted.

The fire in a crowded prison last week in the city of Comayagua killed at least 359 prisoners. There were 852 inmates at the prison built to hold less than half that.

Duarte said the crowd got upset after seeing some bodies being laid on the street.