Sudanese troops battle rebels in South Kordodan after Darfur referendum

Sudanese soldiers rally in the capital Khartoum following a speech by Field Commander Brig. Mohammed Hamdan Hemaidti on May 21, 2014, after troops from the controversial Rapid Support Forces said they seized a strategic area about 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of South Kordofan's state capital Kadugli. AFP PHOTO/ASHRAF SHAZLY

What you need to know:

  • President Omar al-Bashir’s forces have been battling the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North in South Kordofan and Blue Nile since 2011.

  • The SPLM-N said clashes began on Wednesday and continued until late Friday, with fighting initially erupting west of the town of Um Serdiba.

  • Sudan held a referendum in Darfur this month, with officials saying almost 98 per cent of voters opted for retaining the region as five separate states.

KHARTOUM, Friday

New fighting has broken out between Sudanese troops and rebels in the state of South Kordofan, leaving six insurgents dead and many others wounded, a rebel group has said.

President Omar al-Bashir’s forces have been battling the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North in South Kordofan and Blue Nile since 2011, but in recent months the two southern states have seen long periods of calm compared with previous years.

The SPLM-N said clashes began on Wednesday and continued until late Friday, with fighting initially erupting west of the town of Um Serdiba.

“On our side, we lost six comrades and 18 others were wounded,” rebel spokesman Arnu Lodi said in a statement late on Friday.

He said the rebels “had inflicted heavy casualties” on the Sudanese Government troops.

The military spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Khartoum limits press access to the war-hit border regions, making it nearly impossible to verify the often-contradictory reports from the army and the SPLM-N about fighting.

Rebels in the two southern states launched an insurgency against President Bashir’s Arab-dominated Khartoum government in 2011, and neither side has decisively gained the upper hand in fighting.

President Bashir announced a ceasefire in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and the western Darfur region — the scene of a separate insurgency — in late 2015 and extended it by a month at the beginning of this year.

The president is wanted by the International Criminal Court to answer charges of war crimes in Darfur.

Sudan held a referendum in Darfur this month, with officials saying almost 98 per cent of voters opted for retaining the region as five separate states, a view not shared by insurgents.

The new fighting in South Kordofan follows weeks of calm since previous clashes in March.

Meanwhile, a Sudanese military plane crashed on Saturday in the state of North Kordofan, killing all five crew members on board, the army said.

The Soviet-era Antonov 26, usually used in operations against rebels, crashed while landing at the airport in El Obied, the capital of North Kordofan, an army statement said.

“The aircraft has been destroyed and all five crew members martyred,” it said.

Three military officers and two servicemen were on board the ill-fated plane.