Rebel group says Darfur battle kills 45

September 19, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — A rebel leader from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region said his fighters defeated a government battalion on Wednesday in a three-hour battle that killed 45 people.

Sudan Liberation Army faction chairman Ahmed Abdel Shafi said one of his units attacked government soldiers stationed in the village of Dobow in the central Jabel Marra region.

A Sudanese armed services spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Shafi said he had ordered the attack to clear government forces from a key access route through his territory.

“This is territory controlled by the SLA Ahmed Abdel Shafi faction. The government were trying to block the roads to this area, to stop support coming to people in this area. We had to clear the roads. Now aid agencies will be able to come and bring help to the people who need it,” he said.

Shafi said 40 government soldiers and five rebels were killed in the early morning assault, adding: “The rest of the government troops fled.”

The attack is the latest in a series of confrontations reported in Sudan’s remote west that have cast a shadow over plans for peace talks between Sudan’s government and rebel groups in October.

(Reuters)