Sudan army and rebels clash in Kordofan

Fighting between Sudan’s army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLM-N) rebels has reportedly broken out in South Kordofan after months of calm in the state, the two sides said on Tuesday, with both giving differing accounts of the fighting.

Sudan has been limiting press access to the war-hit border regions, making it at times impossible to verify authenticity of information from both warring sides.

The government forces confirmed destroying a number of SPLM-N vehicles and also killing 55 rebels with no casualties of its own.

Sudan: Clashes between Sudanese troops and SPLM-N rebels in South Kordofan https://t.co/cn8nW1ZCqA

— ESISC (@EsiscTeam) March 30, 2016

Despite both sides accusing the other of continuing attacks, South Kordofan had been relatively peaceful until this week’s fighting.

“Early on Tuesday, a large force of rebels came out of the town of Um Serdiba and attacked the area of Karkaraya that we recaptured the day before,” army spokesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami told AFP by phone.

The rebels in the two southern states have been opposing President al-Bashir’s Arab-dominated Khartoum government and none among the sides have had mileage in the ongoing war.

A government delegation travelled to Addis Ababa for an African Union-mediated meeting with the rebels and opposition parties, although the talks ended on March 21 without a conclusive result.