SPLM-N clashes with Sudan’s army in South Kordofan
Article
Comments (2)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
September 22, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Heavy fighting erupted Thursday in
Sudan’s border state of South Kordofan after the rebels Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) attacked army positions, the latest
sign of an escalating conflict.
JPEG - 25.2 kb
A huge explosion near a United Nations compound in South Kordofan
state, Tuesday, June 14, 2011 (AP)
The SPLM-N claimed its troops “destroyed” two garrisons of the
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) after fierce fighting in Khor Al-Dulib
area of Al-Rashad locality, 20 miles south of Al-Dilling town.
According to Gamar Dalman, the adviser to the SPLM-N’s chairman in
South Kordofan, their troops inflicted heavy losses in lives on SAF
and its aligned paramilitary forces. He further claimed that the
SPLM-N had destroyed 13 vehicles laden with machine guns and seized a
number of small arms and ammunition.
“The SPLM-N is determined to liberate all the towns of South
Kordofan’s state,” he said in a press release seen by Sudan Tribune.
Reports of the fighting were corroborated by a UN source speaking on
condition of anonymity to AFP.
The source said that the SPLM-N attacked at around 0530 and killed 12
SAF soldiers. According to the source, three vehicles including two
private buses and a car belonging to an international NGO were caught
in the crossfire. He also said that in the NGO vehicle a Sudanese
staff member was killed and his driver seriously wounded.
Reports of battles in South Kordofan are difficult to verify
independently due to restrictions on media access to the area.
Meanwhile, a local official has confirmed that the SPLM-N launched an
attack on Khor Al-Dulib area, but claimed they suffered heavy losses.
Quoted by the Sudanese Media Center, a website believed to be run by
the country’s intelligence services, the commissioner of Al-Rashad
locality, Khalid Mukhtar, said that SAF had repulsed the attack,
killing more than 30 SPLM-N attackers, including officers, and
arresting two soldiers.
He also claimed SAF had seized a considerable amount of weapons left
behind by the attackers who are “being chased by the armed forces in
the bushes”
Mukhtar described the attack as “desperate,” saying that his locality
was heavily guarded and witnessing a great deal of stability.
The genesis of the conflict dates to early June when Sudan decided to
disarm SPLM-N fighters who were aligned with South Sudan which gained
independence in July 2011.
Khartoum has banned the SPLM-N and vowed to “crush” the rebellion, but
appears to be encountering a great difficulty in doing so.
Another bout of fighting erupted earlier this week around Talodi
locality which the SPLM-N said it captured, a claim denied by the
Sudanese army.
The SPLM-N also reported that SAF carried out aerial bombardment on a
village whose residents refused to join the government’s paramilitary
forces, according to an SPLM-N official.
Gamar Dalman said in a press release that a SAF airplane had dropped
three bombs on Wirni village in Talodi locality and another bomb on
the house of the village’s chief Abdul Rahman Al-Mahdi who died as a
result.
The SPLM-N strongly denounced SAF’s aerial bombardment of civilian
areas, adding that the attack on the village was a result of its
people’s refusal to join the Popular Defense Forces (PDF) which is
fighting alongside SAF.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD
info" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
