The government army said Sunday it had recaptured two "strategic" areas from rebels in central Sudan's Nuba Mountains.
The forces took the "strategic" areas of Washan and Tummah in South Kordofan state after "fierce battles" Saturday with the separatist Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), army spokesman Mohamed Osman Yassin said, cited by the official SUNA news agency.
He said troops inflicted heavy losses in lives and equipment on the rebels, seizing mortars and machine-guns, and freed "large numbers of civilians who were in captivity with the rebel movement."
South Kordofan state "will next year be completely cleared of the rebellion," vowed the spokesman, adding that his forces "are now controlling all the fighting zones and are vigilant to any subversive operations by the rebel movement targeting the county's security and stability."
Earlier the spokesman said the government had recaptured three other areas 10 days ago in the Nuba Mountains and released 9,000 civilian captives -- KHARTOUM (AFP)
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