Sudan army says it recaptured area in Blue Nile

February 11, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced today that it managed to regain control of an area in the Blue Nile state which borders the newly established country of South Sudan.

SAF spokesperson al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad told the pro-government Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website that the army drove out rebels belonging to the Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) from Mukja which lies southwest of the state’s capital city of Damazin.

Sa’ad says the successful military operation meant that the Kurmuk-Damazin road has been secured.

He revealed that that the battles had been raging for two days with the SPLM-N and that they inflicted heavy losses on the rebels.

Kurmuk, which lies on the borders with Ethiopia, was the main bastion of the rebels led by Malik Agar until SAF seized the town late last year.

Fighting broke out last September in the state which borders South Sudan and Ethiopia following clashes between SPLM-N units led by then Governor Agar and SAF. Both sides traded blames over who started the fighting.

(ST)