Sudan rebel chief claims conquest of Darfur town
Iran Press TV
Fri Mar 14, 2014 11:10AM GMT
Surging violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan has reportedly spread to another town where a rebel commander claimed his forces were in control.
'This evening our troops captured Mellit town,' said chief of a Sudan Liberation Army faction Minni Minnawi, as cited in an AFP report on Thursday.
Mellit is located nearly 50 kilometres north of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where insecurity has deteriorated this month.
Minnawi further claimed that his forces still held another area, about 300 kilometres from Mellit in the state's southeast corner, which they attacked several days ago.
That was one of three major outbreaks of unrest in North and South Darfur since late February, leading to the displacement of nearly 115,000 people, according to the United Nations.
While Sudan's army spokesman could not be reached to comment on the rebel's claim, an unidentified witness is cited as reporting 'shooting and explosions' in Mellit.
Despite their latest offensive, rebel-government clashes are no longer the main source of violence in Darfur, 11 years after Minnawi and other militants began an insurgency campaign against Khartoum.
Over the past two years, Sudan's declining economy has led to growing crime and intercommunal clashes, a February report by United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon states.
MFB/NN
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