Sudan army says it says took control of rebel-held village in Blue Nile

August 25, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Sunday announced that it has recaptured the village of Ashimbu in Gessan area near the Ethiopian borders.

SAF spokesman Colonel al-Sawarmi Khaled Saad was quoted by Sudan official news agency (SUNA) as saying that rebel Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) entered the village, burned the market and looted the citizens’ properties.

Saad said that SAF attacked SPLM-N rebels today, killing an unspecified number of them while chasing others.

SPLM-N rebels on the other hand claimed that they killed 22 SAF soldiers and destroyed two battalions on Tuesday at Dokan and Alshumbu areas in Geissan. They also said that they ambushed SAF between Khor alBody Creek and Bashir Nouko in the same day.

The rebel group said that 4 of its fighters were killed and 4 others wounded.

SPLM-N is part of the rebel coalition known as the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) which includes Darfur armed groups.

Khartoum accuses Juba of backing the SRF which has launched several attacks recently mainly in South Kordofan and even in North Kordofan which is not considered a conflict zone.

Juba denies the charges and in turns accuses Khartoum of supporting rebels in Jonglei state.

An African Union commission has been formed to verify rebel support claims by each side.

(ST)