SUDAN: Rebels, government claim victory in Blue Nile fighting

The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)says it inflicted massive human and material losses on Khartoum forces during a three-day battle in southern Blue Nile state, a claim rejected by the Sudanese government. Intensive fighting was reported between the two sides from Thursday to Saturday last week around the town of Ulu. The SPLA said it killed 123 government soldiers in Ulu and another 282 when it ambushed a National Islamic Front (NIF) convoy which had been sent to revamp government forces. It put the number of government wounded at 700. "This was the biggest battle since the 1997 one in which the SPLA captured central Equatoria," SPLA/M spokesman Samson Kwaje told IRIN on Thursday. "We defeated them and they fled. We are, and will continue, chasing them wherever they go since we already took the initiative. SPLA will capture many other areas." The opposition Voice of Sudan radio said the SPLA lost 12 soldiers with "a few" wounded. For its part, Khartoum said the rebels were "desperate" to launch attacks in this area to halt exploration and production operations inside oil fields. "Heavy casualties were inflicted on the infiltrating elements who ended fleeing in disarray," a statement from the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi, received by IRIN, said on Thursday. "A small number of the government's forces were killed," the statement said. It added that the SPLA infiltrated some areas with the aim of looting passengers and hijacking trucks on the Khartoum-Port Sudan highway. "There is a history of such past attempts, staged mainly to give the impression of instability in the area and consequently affect the flow of traffic and public opinion," the statement said.