| Submit your comments on this article |
| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| Khartoum denies loss of 1,000 soldiers |
| 2002-09-28 |
| Sudan denied rebel claims that it lost more than 1,000 soldiers in a failed attempt to recapture the key southern garrison town of Torit. The declarations of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) spokesman Yasser Armane "are unfounded", said a statement from the office of army spokesman Mohammed Beshir Suleiman. "It is the SPLA that lost this large number of dead and wounded," said the statement, carried by the official SUNA news agency. Armane told AFP Friday that "more than 1,000" soldiers were killed "in six days of fighting" around the town of Torit in East Equatoria province. Wonder which side holds the town? Suleiman also criticized the SPLA for saying Friday it was ready to order a temporary ceasefire in exchange for a resumption of peace talks suspended by Khartoum after Torit fell on September 2. "The SPLA proposal for a revival of negotiations is a result of the losses it suffered on the ground in fighting at Torit," his office said, adding that the rebels had made the move to gain world public support. On Friday, Armane said the SPLA "maintains its invitation to the government to resume negotiations and is prepared to observe a temporary ceasefire on all Sudanese territory during the talks." Sounds like a good time for a ceasefire, then. The fact that they're asking for a ceasefire after inflicting 1000 losses on the government troops may indicate they lost 999 themselves. Or it could mean that after beating the snot out of the gummint forces, they're willing to negotiate from a position of strength. Maybe the gummint forces shouldn't have attacked the south on the same day they were signing a treaty... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |