SLM-AW: 52 Sudan army and 5 rebels killed in C. Darfur battle

The Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) announced killing 52 Sudanese officers and its militias in a battle that took place on Tuesday near Golo, Central Darfur. In addition, five rebels were reportedly killed. Mustafa Tambour, SLM-AW military spokesman, said the movement captured 13 soldiers, seized 21 Land Cruisers and damaged three vehicles belonging to the army.Some government troops fled to Gorne and Nertiti, the spokesman pointed out.With regards to Golo, the spokesman revealed the SLM-AW withdrew from its military base in the town, which had been captured last December.He said the decision comes from senior SLM-AW leaders, who instructed the rebels to transfer the battle from Darfur to Khartoum.DisplacedFighting in the West Jebel Marra region of Central Darfur reportedly broke out on 23 December, when the SLM-AW claimed to have captured the Jildu garrison, leaving the government with only two strongholds in the area.Jildu is an important junction that connects East and West Jebel Marra (prized for its fertile land), located near the central town of Golo.The UN estimated that more than 30.000 people fled their homes as a result of the fighting.On 15 January, residents of the Jildu garrison area told Radio Dabanga they had not heard sounds of gunshots or of government airplanes flying over the region for the past two days. They suggested the battles could have subdued. However, on Monday the SLM-AW claimed government forces fired six long-range missiles on Golo, killing a girl and injuring two others.Radio Dabanga file photoRelated: ‘Government shelling’ in C. Darfur town continue, man killed (5 February 2013)