Darfur: Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) rebels said Sudan army attacked their positions in Jabel Marra region
Rebels in Sudan’s western Darfur region accused the government of attacking them with military vehicles, warplanes and troops on horses on Sunday.
The Sudanese army confirmed it had clashed with rebels in the mountainous Jabel Marra region but said it had not used aircraft and the fighting had not displaced civilians.
Darfur is just one of several flashpoints as Sudan’s south prepares to secede on July 9 — a move analysts say could embolden rebels elsewhere. The north’s army is also battling armed groups in the Southern Kordofan border state.
Violence in Darfur, where mostly non-Arab rebels are fighting government troops backed by largely Arab militias, has fallen from its peak in 2003 and 2004 but a surge in attacks since December has forced tens of thousands to flee.
Ibrahim al-Helwu, a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) led by Paris-based Abdel Wahed Mohamed al-Nur, said the violence began around midmorning when government troops advanced from the Darfur settlements of Kas and Nyala.