75 dead taken from battlefield near El Fasher in N. Darfur

The bodies 75 people were transported yesterday from the battlefield to Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The dead men had been killed in fighting against the Justice and Equality Movement on Tuesday on the road between to El Fasher and Kuma. Witnesses said that there are also a large number of men who were wounded in the battle, who were transported by plane to Khartoum to receive treatment. After the battle, traffic was almost fully stopped on the road between Kuma and El Fasher. Sources told Radio Dabanga Feature that a commercial convoy was supposed to arrive in El Fasher on Tuesday, the day of the battle. Drivers on the road tried to flee the area, and there was a crash between 3 trucks, resulting in injuries to a number of passengers. For this reason the sources said that they did not reach El Fasher. Additionally, no commercial convoys have left from El Fasher to Khartoum since Tuesday. Sources expected the city to face economic hardship and the city witnessed already a rise in prices, with a pound of sugar now valued at 17 pounds.

The JEM rebels had claimed after the battle on Tuesday that they defeated forces belonging to the army and Central Reserve Force, capturing 34 vehicles and weaponry of various kinds. In a written statement the movement proclaimed the battle a culmination of victories last month, vowing to defy ‘the government of genocide’ and continue the revolution until victory. The spokesman of the army on Tuesday said that security forces drove JEM rebels from the area of Jebel Adoula, also in the east but farther south. The two reported clashes do not appear to be connected. A rebel official said that they had already evacuated the Jebel Adoula area.