Sudan rebels claim to have seized district capital
29 Dec 2012 12:01
Rebels in Sudan's Darfur have claimed that they seized a district capital
just days after taking control of a major town.
The Sudan Liberation Army's (SLA) Abdelwahid Nur faction said late on Friday
it had captured the government office and army base in Guldo district near
Central Darfur state's Nertiti town.
Ibrahim al-Hillu, the group's spokesperson, called it "a great victory in
the history of the war in Darfur" as his faction had never before seized a
district.
He said Guldo fell after the rebels earlier on Friday captured a Sudanese
Armed Forces (SAF) compound to the southeast, between the South Darfur
capital Nyala and Kass town.
On Monday, Hillu reported that his faction had taken the town of Golo, a few
kilometres east of Guldo. While rebels often report skirmishes with
government forces in Darfur, they rarely claim to have occupied towns.
Sudan's army spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
Land of the Fur
Guldo and Golo are in the fertile and mountainous Jebel Marra area which is
home to the non-Arab Fur people who gave their name to Darfur (Land of the
Fur) and who are represented by Nur's faction.
The group has several hundred combatants and a "sphere of influence" limited
to the Jebel Marra. The Jebel Marra is a regular target for military
operations and air attack, according to the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based
independent research project.
In May, Nur's faction along with the SLA-Minni Minnawi group briefly took
control of the southern Darfur town of Girayda from government forces.
Peacekeepers from the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (Unamid) later
found bodies in the street and signs of looting.
The SLA and other ethnic insurgents began an uprising against the
Arab-dominated government in Khartoum a decade ago.
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Received on Sat Dec 29 2012 - 23:12:27 EST
