20120525
AFP
Sudanese government troops have clashed with rebels on the home turf of insurgent leader Malik Agar, both sides said on Friday.


The Sudanese Media Centre (SMC), which is close to the security apparatus, said that after five days of fighting troops had overrun the rebel-held Jam and Suda areas, giving them control of the surrounding Angasana mountains.

SMC quoted deputy Blue Nile state governor Adam Abaker.

But Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, spokesman for the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), said the insurgents still control the region which is home to their chairman Agar.

"The government side, since the day before yesterday, tried to capture that area," Lodi told AFP. "SPLM-N forced them back... The fighting is not over."

He said both sides were using heavy artillery in the mountainous terrain not far from the Blue Nile state capital Ed Damazin.

The government and rebels each claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on their opponents.

Access to the area is severely restricted, making independent verification of the claims difficult.

Ethnic insurgents of the SPLM-N fought alongside southern rebels during Sudan's 22-year civil war, which ended in a 2005 peace deal and South Sudan's independence last July.

Fighting began in September between the army and forces loyal to Agar, who was then the elected SPLM-N Blue Nile governor.

Khartoum accuses South Sudan of continuing to support SPLM-N, and its claim of victory on the rebel chief's home turf comes before Tuesday's resumption of African Union-led talks between Khartoum and Juba.

Sudan says solving security issues must be a top priority at the talks, which the United Nations ordered to resume under a May 2 Security Council resolution.

The resolution also called for a ceasefire along the disputed Sudan-South Sudan border where both countries fought in March and April, posing what the UN called a serious threat to regional peace and security.

The UN added that it was convinced there can be no military solution to the conflicts in Blue Nile and South Kordofan state, another area where SPLM-N is fighting the government.

There is an urgent need for a political solution, the UN said.

South Sudan's government in Juba denies supporting rebels inside Sudan and accuses Khartoum of backing insurgents south of the border.

The UN ordered both sides to stop the practice.

The latest fighting in Blue Nile comes as the UN says it has received an unconfirmed report that there are about 135,000 displaced people in areas of Blue Nile controlled by SPLM-N.

"Since the UN does not have access to these areas, it has not been possible to verify these figures," the weekly bulletin of the UN's humanitarian affairs office said on Thursday.

"Reports mention that the humanitarian situation in these areas is critical... many people remain trapped in areas without food, clean water and medicine, and that malnutrition levels are rising," it said.

Lodi said the numbers are even higher than 135,000, and many people are suffering.

Sudan has cited security concerns in severely controlling access for foreign relief agencies to Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

The UN and others have warned for months that aid agencies need access throughout the warzone -- including to rebel-held regions -- to properly assess people's needs and distribute assistance to prevent a worse humanitarian situation.