World Tribune.com
Saint-Gaudens

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


See current edition of

Return toWorld Tribune.com Front Cover
Your window on the world

Contact World Tribune.com at world@worldtribune.com