Posted on 03/29/2002 10:01:09 PM PST by Spar
Saturday March 30, 5:57 AM
Sudan rebels claim to kill 300 soldiers recapturing army post
Sudan's main rebel movement claimed to have killed more than 300 government soldiers as it recaptured a strategic outpost in an important oil producing region.
The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) captured "the garrison of Nial Dhiu in the oil production areas," located some 900 kilometers (550 miles) south of Khartoum, it said a statement received here by AFP.
"We are 13 miles (20 kilometers) from (local capital) Bentiu, moving towards Bentiu, threatening seriously the oil fields," Yasir Said Arman, a spokesman for the SPLA's political wing, also told AFP.
Some 300 government troops were killed in the assault, which was aided by a key militia which joined with the rebels against their former allies in the government, the statement said.
The SPLA did not say how many of its fighters were killed and there was no immediate confirmation on the claims of the deaths or the recapturing of the post from the government.
The rebels also captured three artillery pieces, six vehicles, and more than 300 assault rifles, the statement said.
The SPLA also claimed that local Nuer militiamen formerly loyal to General Paulino Matip, a former member of the SPLA who defected to the government and whose forces were a lynchpin of Khartoum's defense of the oil areas, had rejoined the rebels.
Matip himself remained with the government, their spokesman said.
Sudan's military claimed in February that it had captured Nial Diu, the SPLA's former headquarters in the region.
Arman said that the garrison's recapture was a serious blow for the Khartoum government, as it had concentrated its troops for an offensive in the oil regions.
The SPLA statement reiterated earlier warnings that it considered oil companies working in the region, including both Chinese and Canadian firms, to be legitimate targets.
"The movement issued a warning to the petroleum companies that they are legitimate military target ... and should pull out before it is too late," the statement said.
A senior Khartoum official said Thursday a US-brokered accord to protect civilians in Sudan's long-running civil war also applies to oil installations.
More than a million people have died in Sudan's 18-year old civil war, which pits the mostly Christian and animist fighters of the SPLA and their northern allies against the regime in Khartoum.
the regime in Khartoum --satanic.
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