Sudan's military claims it has inflicted heavy losses on rebel forces in the Darfour
province.
Military officials said the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement lost
hundreds of troops in heavy air force bombing of rebel camps in Darfour. The
officials said many of the rebels fled the camps into neighboring Chad.
The air force has used Antonov military transports to drop bombs around
the border town of Tina, officials said. Rebel facilities in and around Tina
were said to have been destroyed in the bombing and subsequent raid by
government-aligned militias, Middle East Newsline reported.
Tina has been regarded as a key rebel stronghold in the year-long
campaign against the regime in Khartoum. Officials said the Sudanese
military offensive picked up steam in Darfour in early January 2004 as fresh
troops arrived in the war-torn province.
So far, the United Nations said about 100,000 people have fled Darfour
for Chad. In all, more than 600,000 people were said to have been forced out
of their homes in the province.