2 rebels killed in clashes in Blue Nile, says Sudanese army

August 2, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) said that it killed two soldiers from the rebel Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and lost one soldier on Friday in clashes in Blue Nile state.

SAF spokesperson al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad said in a statement on Saturday that the army chased a group of rebels who on Friday night attacked the commercial market in the town of Agadi west of the Blue Nile state capital Al- Damazin, noting that rebels killed one civilian and looted food items.

He added that a group comprised of eight rebels had slipped into the commercial market on Friday night and broke some shops before killing one resident.

Sa’ad pointed that SAF chased the attackers and killed two of them and injured several others, stressing that some of the stolen goods have been retrieved.

He said that SAF lost one soldier while another was injured during the clashes.

The spokesperson further added that SAF had combed the area around Agadi and pursued the remnants of the rebel , underscoring that the situation in the area is calm.

Agadi , a famous economic centre in the Blue Nile state, is about 36km from Al-Damazin.

SAF and its militias have intensified attacks on the SPLM-N rebels in South Kordofan since April as part of the so-called “Decisive Summer” counterinsurgency campaign.

The border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile state have been the scene of violent conflict since 2011 when the SPLM-N launched a rebellion against the Khartoum regime.

Peace talks between the two parties remain deadlocked after they failed to reach a consensus on negotiations. While the government says it is only willing to discuss the conflict in the Two Areas, the SPLM-N is demanding that the Darfur conflict be included in a unified peace process.

(ST)