KHARTOUM: New clashes between the Sudanese army and rebels erupted on Saturday in the country’s main oil-producing state of South Kordofan, bordering South Sudan, witnesses and rebels said.
The violence is likely to worsen relations between the African neighbors, as Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting insurgents operating on Sudanese soil and using the South’s territory as retreat bases. Juba denies this.
Residents in Dalang, one of the largest towns in South Kordofan, said they could hear shooting and explosions.
“There are clashes outside the city and now the army is stepping up security inside the city,” said one resident, declining to be named.
Gibril Adam, spokesman for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the western region of Darfur, said his troops had attacked the army outside Dalang. “We handed them a defeat,” he said.
Sudan’s army spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khalid could not be immediately reached on his mobile phone. No more details were available. The fighting comes as the African Union (AU) tries to mediate in a row between Sudan and South Sudan over alleged rebel support.
Diplomats say hard-liners among the rebels and inside the Sudanese army usually try to stir up clashes during such mediation efforts as they do not want a peaceful settlement.
Clashes erupt between army and rebels in South Kordofan
