Sudan's main rebel movement claimed to have killed over 300 government soldiers Friday as it recaptured a strategic outpost in an important oil rich area.
The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) captured "the garrison of Nial Dhiu in the oil production areas," located some 900km south of Khartoum, it said in a statement.
Some 300 government troops were killed in the attack, which was aided by a key militia that joined with the rebels against their former allies in the government, the statement said.
According to foreign news agencies, the SPLA did not say how many of its fighters were killed and there was no immediate confirmation on the claims of the deaths or the recapturing of the post from the government. The rebels also captured three artillery pieces, six vehicles, and more than 300 assault rifles, the statement said.
The SPLA also claimed that local Nuer militiamen formerly loyal to General Paulino Matip, a former member of the SPLA who defected to the government and whose forces were a lynchpin of Khartoum's defense of the oil areas, had rejoined the rebels.
Matip himself remained with the government, their spokesman said. (Albawaba.com)
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