Sudanese army promises fiercer attacks against SPLM-N
July 2, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has declared plans to launch more ferocious military operations against rebel groups at all battlefields and frontlines in the coming period in order to bring rebellion to an end by the end of the summer campaign.
SAF spokesperson, al-Sawarmi Khaled Saad, told pro-government Ashorooq TV on Wednesday that confrontations with the rebels in the coming period would be more violent, particularly as SAF is at its best military situation following continued successes of the decisive summer campaign in Darfur and South Kordofan.
He added that SAF controls all areas east of Jebel in the Nuba Mountains, saying the nature of the land hindered SAF’s advancement in few areas east of Jebel but asserted this wouldn’t last for long.
Last Sunday, SAF said it repulsed an attack carried out by the SPLM-N to retake the strategic town of Alatmor, stressing it killed 50 rebels and injured dozens others. The eastern South Kordofan town is located 93km from Kauda, a stronghold rebel town where are the military and political headquarters of the SPLM-N.
The SPLM-N, for its part, claimed that it shot down helicopter gunship in the ongoing fighting east of South Kordofan capital, Kadugli.
SPLM-N spokesperson Arnu Ngutulu Lodi underscored in a statement on Wednesday that the plane crashed in an area south of Deling county.
“Despite intense media cover-ups and heavy guard to the crash site, but the truth became apparent,” he said.
However, SPLM-N claims couldn’t be confirmed by independent sources.
But Sudan army spokesman Colonel al-Sawarmi Khaled Sa’ad, told pro-government Ashorooq TV that the chopper crashed as a result of malfunction that was known to them. He said the pilot reported this situation to the headquarters after which he was evacuated from the area.
Col. Sa’ad called SPLM-N claims as “unfounded lies” aimed at lifting the morale of their troops after continuous defeats they suffered at the hands of the Sudan armed forces.
The government intensified attacks on the rebels and mobilised a significant number of troops and militiamen as part of its so-called “Decisive Summer” military campaign.
The border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile state have been the scene of violent conflict since 2011 when the SPLM-N launched an insurgency against the Khartoum regime.
Peace talks between the two parties remain deadlocked after they failed to reach a common ground for negotiations. While the government says it is only willing to discuss the conflict in the Two Areas, the SPLM-N is demanding a comprehensive peace process.
(ST)