Sudan rebels accuse army of attacking Blue Nile

Fighting between the Sudanese military and armed opposition forces in Blue Nile state has reportedly subdued on Monday.

According to the spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), soldiers and militias attacked the rebel-hold area of Arum in El Tadamon locality at 6am. The SPLM-N claims to have repulsed the attackers by Monday evening and is “fully in control of the area”.

A second press statement was released today without an indication of the casualty number.

“By this attack the regime in Khartoum has violated its own so-called one month ceasefire declared by Omar Al Bashir in the beginning of this year. The so-called ceasefire is media propaganda to mislead public opinion,” spokesman Arnu Ngutulu Lodi wrote yesterday.

In November, the SPLM-N in South Kordofan accused the Sudanese government of violating the unilateral ceasefire the President announced in 2016, in Um Dorain locality. The army did not comment on the claim.

There have been no recent reports of fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, also known as the 'Two Areas'.