41 Sudanese troops killed in North Darfur attack: SLM-AW rebels

January 6, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Fourty-one Sudanese soldiers were killed during an attack against a military convoy carried out last Saturday in North Darfur state, said the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur (SLM-AW).

In a statement issued on Monday, SLM-AW military spokesperson Mustafa Tambour said that their fighters ambushed a Sudanese army convoy near Kutum, 120 kilometres north-west of the state capital, El-Fasher.

Tambour added that after fierce fighting that lasted about 45 mintues the Sudanese troops and its allied militias fled, leaving behind the bodies of the soldiers and large quantities of arms and ammunition.

He confirmed that 41 soldiers were killed and another two were captured.

Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khaled could not be reached for comment.

The rebel spokesperson said that rebel forces would continue theirfight against the Sudanese regime until they entered Khartoum.

The SLM-AW have refused to join any forum to negotiate a peace agreement with the government.

Last December, Al-Nur explained his position, saying that Khartoum is not interested in democratic change in the country and only seeks only partial agreements.

(ST)