Rebels claim gains in southern Sudan
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Friday, June 1, 2001
CAIRO — The rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army said it captured
a strategic town in southern Sudan amid intense battles with government
troops.
The SPLA said its forces captured Deim Zubeir, more than 1,100
kilometers south of Khartoum. The rebels asserted that the insurgents are
advancing toward other government-held positions in the south.
In a statement, the SPLA ambushed army units and more than 400
combatants were killed in three battles. Deim Zubeir is regarded as a key
position in the western Bahr el-Ghazal province.
The regime in Khartoum has acknowledged the battles with the SPLA. Last
week, Sudan announced a unilateral ceasefire in the 18-year-old civil war, a
gesture dismissed by the insurgents.
A government statement said the fighting over Deim Zubeir continues.
"Our armed forces are using all resources at their disposal to repulse
this aggression," the government statement said.
The SPLA said it also captured the town of Umm Serdibah in the southern
Kordofan province. The group said the capture came amid a government
offensive in which 14 villages in the area were torched.
On Saturday, the Khartoum regime and the SPLA are expected to attend a
meeting in Nairobi, to end the civil war. The meeting was scheduled as the
United States allocated $3 million to the Sudanese opposition. Sudanese
officials said they were stunned by the U.S. aid.
Friday, June 1, 2001
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