Darfur rebel commander killed in East Jebel Marra clashes

The East Jebel Marra commander of the rebel faction Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) and the head of their intelligence forces were killed in a battle against the Sudanese army last Sunday. The SLA-MM lost another 9 men and claimed to have killed 187 army soldiers and militiamen.SLA-MM commander Ahmed Musa Kursi, nicknamed Abu Digin, and head of intelligence forces, Adam Mahmoud, were killed in East Jebel Marra’s Nimra. The battle and casualties had been previously confirmed by local residents to Radio Dabanga.The spokesman for the SLA-MM Adam Saleh said his faction captured 35 Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) troops and militiamen. Saleh also claims that the SLA-MM destroyed 150 SAF vehicles loaded with various weapons.”The SLA-MM seized 18 vehicles mounted with machine guns and destroyed 9 other vehicles. Our forces also seized a ‘signal vehicle’ including its crew, five 107mm ‘Katyusha’ rocket launchers, and several canons and artillery pieces,” the rebel spokesman told Radio Dabanga. Joint SLA-MM and Liberation and Justice Movement-Ali Karbino forces claimed to have attacked the base of the Sudanese army in Nimra last Sunday.Local residents said that army troops stationed in the vicinity had assaulted and robbed civilians, raped women and girls, and destroyed water wells. File photo by UnamidRelated: Rebels claim attack on SAF and militia in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra (3 November 2013)