Over 20 Sudanese soldiers killed in North Darfur: SLM-AW rebels
January 1, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur (SLM-AW) said they killed over 20 Sudanese soldiers in an attack carried out in North Darfur state.
The SLM-AW military spokesperson, Mustafa Tambor, said in a statement issued on Wednesday they launched an attack on the Sudanese army base of Beesa near the town of Kabkabia in north Darfur.
Tambor further added that they killed 23 soldiers and seized 3 Land Cruiser vehicles and burned 5 others, 13 Kalashnikov rifles, 4 B10 machine guns, one 120 machine gun, 9 shells, and various ammunition boxes.
He said their fighters fiercely clashed with government forces and its allied militias, pointing that enemy forces fled the base leaving several dead and wounded.
The Sudanese army spokesperson was not reachable to comment on these statements.
In the same context, the Darfur Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees association denounced the constant shelling carried out by Sudanese army on 9 villages in Jebel Marra near Gulu province in South Darfur state and Wrokrow area in Central Darfur state.
The IDPs spokesperson, Hussein Abu Al-Sharati, said on Wednesday that fierce clashes took place between the SLM-AW and the government forces, pointing that the latter used Antinov jets to bomb civilian populated areas in the middle of Jebel Marra and around Gulu and Wrokrow areas including Tiboon, Sibna, Dooli, Jadeed, Burri, Tiro, Kleen, Kurmuk, and Dana.
He added that most of the houses and farms in those areas are in flames, pointing that the residents resorted to hills and forests in order to avoid the Antinov bombing which caused severe panic.
Abu Al-Sharati called on the African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) to be present in the conflict areas in the middle of Jebel Marra in order to assist the displaced population who lost their houses and farms, asking the UN, humanitarian groups, and the international community to support the IDPs.
(ST)