Sudan denies rebels’ claim of killing 11 army soldiers in Darfur ambush

August 22, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese army has denied claims by rebels in the country’s western region of Darfur that they killed 11 soldiers in an ambush on Monday.

The official spokesman of the army known as SAF, Al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad, said on Wednesday that no clashes occurred with Darfur rebels during the month of Ramadan and Eid holiday.

Al-Sawarmi was reacting to a news report in which the Darfur rebel Sudan Liberation Movement of Mani Arkoi Minnawi (SLM-MM) said it killed 11 army soldiers in an ambush on Monday.

SLM-MM’s spokesman Abdulla Musral told Radio Dabanga that the operation took place in an area located between the towns of Al-Mujlad and Babanosa, 50 km east of East Darfur State.

Darfur has been witnessing an upsurge of violence after the region’s conflict decreased in intensity over recent years. Several rebels factions remain opposed to the peace agreement signed between the government and the ex-rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in Doha last year.

Meanwhile, some rebel groups mainly the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) forged an alliance with rebels fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile with the aim of overthrowing the government in Khartoum.

(ST)