Army claims recapture of Raga

The Sudanese armed forces claimed on Sunday to have recaptured the strategic town of Raga, Western Bahr al-Ghazal, news agencies reported. An army statement said that troops loyal to Khartoum had forced the rebel SPLM/A (Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army) out of the town on Sunday morning, inflicting "huge losses in men and equipment". The acting armed forces spokesman, Lt-Gen Faruq Hasan Muhammad Nur, was quoted by Sudan TV as saying government forces were now pursuing the SPLM/A as they fled the town. "After they [government forces] succeeded to capture Raga, they are still pursuing the remnants of the rebels to further the victory outside Raga town and to enlarge the circle to secure the town," he said. Humanitarian sources told IRIN on Monday it seemed likely that the government had been able to recapture Raga. The SPLM/A seized control of Raga and the nearby town of Daym Zubayr during a major offensive in the region in early June. According to WFP, some 20,000 people have fled fighting around Raga since late September, taking refuge in the village of Mangayath. The WFP on 7 October criticised Khartoum for allowing bomb attacks on Mangayath as emergency relief food was being distributed to IDPs in the area.