20110312
REUTERS

JUBA, Sudan (Reuters) - Militia fighters attacked the capital of south Sudan's oil-producing Upper Nile state on Saturday, the southern army said, leaving an unknown number of casualties.

The attack on Malakal, one of the south's three main settlements, marked an escalation in clashes between the south's army and militias which has aroused fears over the stability of the region in the countdown to its secession, due on July 9.

"Militia have penetrated the town. They raided at night," said southern army spokesman Philip Aguer on Saturday morning.

Renegade militia leader George Athor told Reuters one of his deputies had launched the assault to seize weapons and to strike back after a series of army offensives against his men.

"The SPLA sent all its men to the frontline to attack us, leaving Malakal unprotected. So we took advantage," he said.

Athor is a former army officer who rebelled last year saying he had been cheated out of the governorship of neighbouring Jonglei state in April elections.

In January this year, southerners overwhelmingly voted to declare independence in a referendum promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war with the south.

The southern army and government has accused the north of backing militias in the south to destabilise the region and keep control of its oil, an allegation dismissed by Khartoum.