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Saint-Gaudens

Sudan calls up reserves
as rebels advance

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Friday, June 8, 2001

CAIRO — Sudan has ordered a full military mobilization amid an advance by rebel forces in the south.

The mobilization was ordered by Sudanese President Omar Bashir as officials acknowledged that the Sudanese People's Liberation Army has achieved gains in their drive against government troops.

Bashir called for all soldiers and reservists to immediately report for duty. The president said troops would be sent south to stop the rebel drive, which threatens Sudan's lucrative oil industry.

"Our soldiers will teach the rebels an unforgettable lesson," Bashir said.

Earlier, the government ordered a mobilization of pro-regime militias in the south.

Bashir accused the United States of backing the SPLA campaign. He said Washington is using the rebels to capture Sudanese oil resources to fund a breakaway state in the south.

Sudanese officials said Khartoum hopes to obtain military help from Egypt and Libya in stopping the SPLA. The officials said an Egyptian-Libyan delegation plans to tour the border with Uganda, where the SPLA operates. The SPLA said its forces have captured the strategic town of Ragha in the western Bahr Ghazal province. The group said most of the 800 Sudanese soldiers stationed in the town have been captured of killed.

Friday, June 8, 2001


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