Sudanese Army claims to have killed 300 Darfur rebels in clashes

July 17, 2010



The Sudanese Army said it killed over 300 rebels in the Darfur region of the country, and lost 75 of its own in clashes during the past week. General Al-Tayeb al-Musbah Osman was quoted by the Sudanese media as saying the fighting was with the (JEM). He also said that the government's forces had destroyed rebel vehicles in the fighting, as well as capturing 86 people.

The Justice and Equality Movement denied the government's statements, saying that they had defeated the army, not the other way around. said there had been fighting in the area, but it would not say the number of the casualties. This incident is the second of its kind in recent months; in May, several hundred rebel fighters were killed by the government.

The Justice and Equality Movement is one of two rebel movements that have boycotted peace talks with the government; the other one is the Sudan Liberation Army.

The Darfur Region has been subject to violence for the past seven years, when the rebels began to fight the government, saying that the the western part of the country was being neglected. The UN has said that over 300,000 people have been killed, and 2.7 million people have been forced to relocate, while the Sudanese government claims only 10,000 people have died. The Sudanese President, has been charged with  due to his handling of the situation in Darfur.