Sudan Revolutionary Front clashes with army in South Kordofan

The Sudan Revolutionary Front, a coalition of opposition rebel movements, announced that it has seized the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) garrison of Jau in South Kordofan on Sunday. The Front said the joint operation was carried out by troops from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). JEM spokesman Jibril Adam Bilal told Radio Dabanga the Front’s armed forces are composed of the SPLM-N, JEM and both factions of the Sudan Liberation Army. He said the first operation, under the command of Abdel Aziz al-Hilu managed to capture the strategic garrison of Jau, one of the largest in the state. Bilal said the Front’s troops managed to distract the SAF forces, and destroyed much of their weaponry. He said the Front have taken control of the area, and remaining government troops are also trapped in the area. SAF blames South Sudan for attack in South Kordofan The Sudanese army accused South Sudanese troops and rebels from South Kordofan of carrying out an attack on Sunday at 3:00 a.m. in Bahr Al Abyad. Sudan army spokesman Al Sawarmi Khaled Saad told Reuters that Sudanese troops clashed with South Sudanese troops, ‘raising the question of the recently signed non-aggression pact’. Saad said the fighting is ongoing and accused the South Sudanese government of failing to adhere to the non-aggression pact signed in Addis Ababa, under the mediation of the African Union. The SPLM-N spokesman Arnu Ngutulu Lodi denied the accusations and said the Revolutionary Front was responsible for the operation in South Kordofan.