W. Sudan rebels say kill 621 govt forces, militias
KHARTOUM, Dec 27 (Reuters) – Rebels from western Sudan said on Saturday they had killed 621 government troops and members of Arab militias in a two-day battle in the arid region of Darfur.
A government armed forces statement issued late on Friday night confirmed that a number of soldiers were killed or wounded when they repulsed an attack by “bandits” in a “fiercesome battle”, but gave no figures.
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of two main rebel groups waging a revolt in Darfur since February, said fighters ambushed a force of 4,500 to 5,000 government troops and militiamen known as Janjaweed who were advancing towards the rebel-held town of Tina on the Chad border.
“We killed 621 of them and shot down two helicopters. Many of them fled to Chad across the border,” JEM Secretary-General Mohamed Basher Ahmed told Reuters by telephone from Darfur.
He said 27 rebel fighters were killed in the battle which began on December 25 near Kulbus town, about 120 km (75 miles) north of El Geneina, capital of Western Darfur state. The battle was a joint attack by JEM and the other main rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), he added.
The SLA, which confirmed the attack, signed a ceasefire with Khartoum in September but peace talks in Chad between the two sides broke down earlier this month with both sides blaming each other. JEM has had no talks with the government.
JEM and the SLA accuse the government in Khartoum of marginalising the poor Darfur region, and analysts say the conflict could derail an impending peace deal now being negotiated in Kenya with a separate rebel group to end two decades of civil war in the south of Africa’s largest country.
Observers who recently visited Darfur said they saw many government troops and helicopter gunships, adding there was clear evidence of a military build-up in the region. They said it was impossible to travel outside the main towns, making verification of reported attacks difficult.
The United Nations estimates that more than 600,000 people have been displaced by the conflict and warns of an impending humanitarian crisis there.