Sudan’s government launched a large-scale military campaign in areas controlled by the Darfur armed movements and rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in the Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states. This comes amid reports that the authorities are anticipating surprises from the rebels in the northern and central parts of Sudan.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said that his country “strongly and firmly continues its actions until the armed forces — which will get all the support and backup to liberate every inch that is contaminated by the rebels — achieve victory.”

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A Malian group known as Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) has claimed responsibility for twin car bombings that killed more than two dozen people in northwest Niger.

MUJAO spokesman Abu Walid Sahraoui said his group carried out Thursday’s retaliatory attacks to punish Niger’s military cooperation with France in the ongoing war in Mali.

“We attacked France and Niger because of its co-operation with France, in the war against Sharia,” Sahraoui added.

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A military commander in eastern Congo says rebels attacked an army position north of Goma, a major provincial capital in the country’s troubled east.

Lt. Col. Mamadou Ndala said Monday that the attackers were from the M23 movement, a Tutsi-led rebellion believed to be backed by neighboring Rwanda. Last November, the M23 succeeded in overrunning Goma. It took intense international pressure to halt their advance. M23 fighters have since then been stationed north of the city.

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The Nigerian military say Boko Haram militants in the north-east of the country are “in disarray” and leaving the country in large numbers as a result of its offensive against them.

In a statement, it said 14 enemy fighters had been killed and 20 apprehended since Saturday.

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At least 21 people killed in Borno state as army launches offensive against Boko Haram strongholds in the northeast.

A security official in northeast Nigeria says soldiers have shelled suspected camps of armed groups in the region, killing at least 21 people.

The official said on Friday that the fighting happened on Thursday in the Sambisa Forest Reserve, just south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

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Nigeria has announced a “massive deployment of men and resources” to combat Islamist militants in the country’s border territories.

A statement said the drive was aimed at “asserting the nation’s territorial integrity” and “enhancing security”.

On Tuesday President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three north-eastern states after a series of deadly attacks by militant groups.

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The Sudanese government on Saturday accused South Sudan of providing support to rebels from the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) who have recently stepped up their attacks in multiple states across the country.

In a press release, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) claimed that Juba provided rebels with “large numbers” of four-wheel drive cars that were recently handed to Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) and Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N).

The security apparatus went on to say that more vehicles are en route from South Sudan to SPLM-N and Darfur’s Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

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