March 29, 2012 (KHAROUM) – Insurgents fighting Sudanese government
forces in the border state of South Kordofan on Thursday attacked and
seized control of two villages in the vicinity of the strategic town of
Talodi, rebel and official sources have confirmed.
- SPLMN rebel recruits train in a secret camp in South Kordofan’s Nuba mountains (AFP: Trevor Snapp)
A well-placed security source told Sudan Tribune that the
rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army North (SPLM/A-N) launched
two attacks at 7 am local time on Mafloa and Um Dual villages in an
attempt to tighten their long-running siege of Talodi, the site of a
main army garrison.
The two villages, according to the source, were completely devoid of
government forces which prompted some local citizens to clash with the
rebels and incur losses in lives. The source however failed to give a
death toll.
The source further admitted that the rebels had managed to seize the
two villages and were now closing in on Talodi from three fronts,
suggesting that the town could come under attack within the next few
hours.
Meanwhile, the SPLM-N’s official spokesman, Arnu Loddi, said in an emailed statement to Sudan Tribune that their forces have attacked and “destroyed government garrisons” in the two villages.
According to Loddi, the SPLM-N’s first attack targeted Mafloa
village, 7 kilometers north of Talodi, whereas the second targeted Um
Dual village to the east of Talodi.
Loddi claimed that their forces had killed a total of 21 SAF soldiers in the two attacks and seized a great cache of equipments.
He went on to say that Talodi was now completely under siege and
warned government forces stationed in the town to leave or face their
fate.
SPLM-N made a number of attempts to capture Talodi since the conflict
in South Kordofan broke out in June last year. Several villages around
Talodi were attacked by the rebels but the town remained still under
control of government forces.
“The SPLA-N will continue its siege of Talodi until it is liberated,” the rebels’ spokesman said.
In Khartoum, the pro-government website Sudanese Media Center (SMC)
confirmed that the rebels had attacked and entered the two villages,
citing the mayor of Talodi.
However, the local official, however, said that government forces had
eventually repelled the attack. He charged that the attack was fully
supported by neighboring South Sudan as evidenced, he said, by the types
of arms used by the insurgents.
Sudan routinely accuses South Sudan of supporting the SPLM-N rebels
who fought as part of its army before the country seceded from Sudan in
July last year.
This week serious clashes erupted in Sudan’s border town of Heglig
between SAF and South Sudan’s army known as SPLA. Khartoum accused
Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) of
participating in the clashes.
SPLM-N and JEM plus two other rebel factions are the members of the
Sudanese Revolutionary Forces (SRF), a coalition of groups seeking to
overthrow the Sudanese government.
(ST)
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق