Heavy fighting in C. Darfur kills 70 soldiers, 5 rebels: SRF

Heavy fighting broke out in West Jebel Marra, Central Darfur, between the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) led by Abdel Wahid and the Sudanese army and its militias at about 8:00am on Monday, 7 January. Nimr Abdulrahman, spokesman of the SLM-AW –integrated in the SRF, told Radio Dabanga the rebels killed 70 soldiers, destroyed 25 government Land Cruisers and seized another 11 vehicles loaded with weapons. Five SLM-AW members were also killed during the battle and seven were injured. The clashes reportedly erupted when the rebel group, who claims to be currently in “full control” of the Jildu garrison, halted an offensive against them carried out by pro-government militiamen attempting to regain the area. Jildu is an important junction that connects East and West Jebel Marra. Militia leader Burhan and his men were coming from Zalingei and were forced to retreat to the city when the rebels defeated them, Nimr told Radio Dabanga. The spokesman asserted that as the battles on the ground were ongoing, the Sudan Air Forces bombed several villages in the area of Jildu. He said this led to the displacement of a large numbers of civilians residing the region, who fled to “safer areas”.Radio Dabanga file photoRelated:Bombings in Golo leave ‘several dead’ (4 January 2013)Bombings kill two near Golo, C. Darfur (27 December 2012)Darfur battle in Golo leaves tens of soldiers killed (24 December 2012)