Sudan, rebels trade accusations over fighting
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) - Sudan's army has repulsed an attack by rebels on one of its positions in the south of the country, state radio reported Tuesday, but rebels denied the charge, saying the government was on the offensive.
The comments were the latest accusations in which each side has charged the other with violating a cease-fire reached during peace talks, due to resume Wednesday in Kenya, which are aimed at ending the 19-year civil war.
State Radio Omdurman said the army had repulsed an attack by the southern-based rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) on its position at a place identified as Fardos in the oil-rich Unity State in the south.
It also said the army had taken control of the rebel base at Wankai, about 30 miles from Bentiu, Unity State's main town, and had inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels. The radio did not say when the attack took place.
But SPLA spokesman George Garang accused the government of attacking the rebel forces.
"The government attacked our forces exactly at 3 a.m this morning. They attacked with heavy artillery and fighting continued until sunrise," Garang told Reuters in Kenya.
"We have not attacked any government position. On the contrary it is the government which is on the offensive," he said.
The two sides, which are due to start a third round of peace talks, agreed on a cease-fire until March 31 in previous discussions, but each side has accused the other of violating the truce.
President Bush"s special envoy for peace in Sudan, John Danforth, last week called for the government to stop breaking a cease-fire agreed with rebels and to concentrate its efforts on peace talks.
The United States has been a key mediator in the peace talks, which have so far yielded agreement on key issues of religion and a referendum on southern independence, but which still need to tackle tricky topics of power and wealth-sharing.
The war, which erupted in 1983, broadly pits rebels seeking more autonomy for the south, which is mainly animist with some Christians and Muslims, against the Islamic government in the north. Oil and ethnicity have complicated the conflict.
(Additional reporting from Nairobi)
01/21/03 16:41 ET
