Sudan battlefield report: South Kordofan

Several reports reaching Radio Dabanga from South Kordofan confirm an escalation of hostilities between Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) and Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) formations in an around the town of Delling in South Kordofan. SRFSpeaking to Radio Dabanga from the field, the official spokesman for the SRF-aligned SPLA-N, Arnu Ngutulu Lodi said on Saturday that “the SRF has destroyed an SAF convoy in an ambush on the Delling-Dibebat road”, a vital link between South and North Kordofan. The SRF claims to have “inflicted heavy casualties in both men and equipment” in “fighting that continued from 8am to sunset”. Lodi claims that “three other reinforcement convoys backed by air bombardment from Delling, Dibebat and Farshay were destroyed”. He says that “the SAF fled, leaving six bodies on the ground, 21 wounded, as well as 12 prisoners of war, including Lt Col Yasir Mohamed Abdulla, and Lt Hamid Mohamed Abdolsamet (ID No. 231776)”. The SPLA-N claims to have destroyed one fuel tanker and captured three. The haul also includes two Korean-made Akama Jeeps mounted with 12.7 millimetre heavy machine guns and other materiel and ammunition. “We have one slightly wounded comrade. The list of other Prisoners of War will be published later,” Lodi said. JEMHis reports are mirrored by communiques from the allied Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to have “delivered a defeat on SAF formations on the outskirts of Delling”. JEM spokesman Badawi Musa Al Sakin also confirms Lodi’s prisoner and materiel-capture claims. The JEM claim to have attained “control over the entrances to Delling city, leaving only the Halayib gate still in government control with four tanks, 15 Land Cruisers and two Ural trucks”. International news agencies such as Reuters and AFP are also following the unfolding situation in South Kordofan intently. AFPAFP notes: “There has been an upsurge of rebel activity since April in the South-North Kordofan boundary region, through which passes the main road link to the national capital Khartoum. “Delling is on the route linking the South Kordofan state capital Kadugli with El Obeid, North Kordofan’s capital, which is home to an air force base and an oil refinery.” The reports says that residents of Delling said they “heard gunfire and explosions coming from north of the town”. “Authorities ordered buses travelling to El Obeid to cancel their trips,” one resident said. ReutersReuters acknowledges the “New clashes between the Sudanese army and rebels erupted on Saturday in the country’s main oil-producing state of South Kordofan, bordering South Sudan”. The Reuters report suggests that “the violence is likely to worsen relations between the African neighbours, as Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting insurgents operating on Sudanese soil and using the South’s territory as retreat bases. Juba denies this.” Residents in Delling, one of the largest towns in South Kordofan, said they could hear shooting and explosions. “There are clashes outside the city and now the army is stepping up security inside the city,” said one resident, declining to be named. On Wednesday, both the JEM and the army said they had fought at Sidrah, about 130 kilometres northeast of Delling. As AFP notes, that attack ended weeks of relative calm in the area. As the battle appears to be ongoing, Radio Dabanga was unable to independently verify any of these claims or reports. We will update this breaking news story as reports reach us. File photo by Albert González Farran/Unamid