CAIRO Ñ Sudan has achieved a major success in its military campaign
to expel rebels out of the nation's oil-producing region.
Spokespeople for both the Khartoum government and the Sudanese People's
Liberation Army said rebels have withdrawn from several towns near Bentiou,
the capital of the oil-producing region in Bahr Ghazal state. The rebel
pullout was reported after weeks of heavy fighting in the region.
At first, an SPLA spokesman confirmed the withdrawal, calling it
tactical. Later, an SPLA statement denied Khartoum's claims that the
military has regained control over the Mukawaj, a strategic town in the
oil-producing area.
Sudanese military officials said government troops have bolstered
control around Bentiou near the Blue Nile. They said the SPLA has put up
heavy resistance to the government advance.
The SPLA has targeted the Bentiou region, assessing that ending oil
production would result in a strategic blow to Khartoum's 19-year war in the
south. For its part, Sudan has engaged in several arms deals to bolster its
military in an attempt to finally defeat the rebels.
Sudanese military spokesman, Gen. Mohammed Bashir Suleiman, said
government troops and allied militias have destroyed SPLA forces that
controlled a strategic road that linked the eastern to western portions of
Bahr Ghazal. Suleiman said this has enabled the military to regain control
over the province during the last few days.
Last week, Sudan's military said troops had regained control over the
strategic town of Kessan after being under SPLA control since 1997. The SPLA
confirmed the assertion by Khartoum.
A researcher who returned from southern Sudan said Khartoum has failed
to advance into Bahr Ghazal. John Prendergast, of the International Crisis
Group, said the SPLA had bolstered its positions in the Western Upper Nile
while sustaining defeats near the Ethiopian border.
