20120228
AFP
Rebels fighting along Sudan's disputed border with the breakaway south on Monday said they had seized the key area of Taruje, near the southern border, clearing a path for refugees fleeing the fighting.

"Taruje is now liberated by SPLM," since Sunday evening, said Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).

Numerous attempts to reach Sudan's army spokesman for comment were unsuccessful, while access to the state is restricted, making independent verification difficult.

The claimed move into Taruje came after SPLM-N rebels -- backed by Darfuri-based insurgents of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) -- said they attacked on Sunday the disputed Jau area -- part of an oil-rich region on the poorly defined border.

Lodi said the rebels seized three tanks along with hundreds of weapons and vehicles in the Jau operation.

Taruje is about 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Jau, making a "completely clear and safe" route for refugees, Lodi said.

The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have fled into South Sudan since fighting began in South Kordofan last June and later spread to nearby Blue Nile state.

Khartoum threatened retaliation on Sunday after accusing South Sudan of backing the rebel attack on the Jau area, six kilometres (four miles) inside the border, in violation of a memorandum on non-aggression and cooperation signed this month.

It said rebels accompanied by officers from South Sudan's army launched a "direct attack", but Juba denied supporting opposition groups in Sudan.

Ethnic minority insurgents in the SPLM-N fought alongside the former rebels now ruling the South.

Although political and military ties between the South and the SPLM-N have not been fully severed, "the two are now separate entities with distinct leaderships," the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based independent research project, said in a report late last year.

South Sudan broke away last July after an overwhelming vote for independence that followed more than two decades of war.

Border tensions have since flared, with each side accusing the other of supporting rebels within its territory, while a major dispute over oil transit fees remains unresolved.

More than 360,000 people have been internally displaced or severely affected by fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, the United Nations says.

With Sudan severely restricting the work of foreign relief agencies in the war zone, international concern is mounting over malnutrition and food shortages in the area.