Sudanese army recapture North Darfur’s Haskanita

March 25, 2014 (KHARTUM) – The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) Tuesday announced the recapture of Haskanita, in the remote southern part of North Darfur state, from the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement – Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM).

Last Friday and Saturday the Sudanese army and its militias retook Alleit Jar-Elnaby and Al-Tawisha which are not far from Haskanita . On Monday, it announced the seizure of Ba’ashim area, north-west of Mellit in North Darfur”.

After announcing the takeover of Haskanita, Al-Sawarmi Khaled told reporters that the Sudanese troops are chasing the “fugitive remnants” of rebels who are heading to the areas of eastern Jebel Marra .

“The Armed Forces confirm its full control over the areas affected by the attacks that rebels launched on several places of the state of North Darfur,” he further said.

The SLM-MM and a small faction led by a rebel commander called Ali Karbino, attacked several areas in South Darfur and North Darfur since the end of February.

According to the UN agencies, the clashes between the army and rebels displaced over 81,300 villagers. Many fled to the poorly equipped camps for the internally displaced persons, while the Sudanese authorities banned the humanitarian access to the affected areas.

REBEL DENIAL

The SLM-MM spokesperson, Abdullah Mursal and the group’s military spokesperson Adam Saleh Abakar released two statements denying the recapture of Ba’ashim area, north-west of Mellit in North Darfur.

The rebel group said they repulsed the attack, adding they destroyed 30 military vehicles loaded with weapons and ammunition and sized 7 others.

The SLM-MM officials said the government militias fled to unknown destinations leaving behind the corpses of militiamen killed during the fighting.

DABAJO VISITS AFFECTED CIVILIANS

The head of a former rebel faction, Justice and Equality Movement – Sudan (JEM-Sudan), Bakheit Abdallah Abdel-Karim (Dabajo), arrived on Tuesday to the capital of North Darfur state, Al-Fasher, to inspect the humanitarian situation in the areas affected by the recent rebel attacks.

The group further said in a statement on Tuesday that Dabajo will also brief JEM-Sudan members about the recent steps in the implementations of the peace agreement and prepare the combatants to engage in the implementations of security arrangements deal and the DDR process.

(ST)