A joint offensive of two Darfur rebel groups against the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in North Darfur left more than 25 government soldiers dead on Wednesday, both rebel movements say.<\/p>\n
The battle took place on the road connecting Tawila and El Fasher in the area of Kuim, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) military spokesman told Radio Dabanga.<\/p>\n
He added that several SAF-soldiers were captured, others fled in the direction of El Fasher and some ran in different directions.<\/p>\n
Witnesses on the ground between El Fasher and Tawila confirmed the occurrence of the battle to Radio Dabanga.<\/p>\n
JEM spokesman Badawi Mosa Al-Sakinand reported that two Land Cruisers mounted with weapons that belong to Khartoum were seized in the clashes and other vehicles were destroyed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll militias operating under the umbrella of the National Congress Party\u2019s (NCP) troops will suffer consequences for following government\u2019s directives\u201d, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minawi (SLM-MM) that also took part in the combat warned via Radio Dabanga.<\/p>\n
Adam Saleh Abkar, SLM-MM military spokesman, is urging the Sudanese people not to \u201cback the NCP because the regime will use anyone as human shields for its own purposes\u201d.<\/p>\n
He declared that all factions of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of Sudanese rebel groups, will deal \u201cfirmly and seriously\u201d with each one of the militias supporting the NCP.<\/p>\n
Radio Dabanga could not contact the SAF for comments. <\/p>\n