Sudan Counts 200 Dead In Darfur Rebel Attack Of Capital

Khartoum, Sudan (AHN) - The defense minister of Sudan claimed Tuesday that 200 Darfur rebels died during an attack on the capital over the weekend.

According to PR-inside.com, defense minister General Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein told parliament that 93 soldiers and 13 policemen were killed in repulsing Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel forces in Omdurman. Thirty civilians also died during the clashes while 90 rebel bodies had been found scattered outside the city.

Government troops are hunting JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim and have raised the bounty for anyone who can help in his arrest to $250,000.

A statement from JEM said the attack in Omdurman near Khartoum was meant to draw attention to encourage negotiations to resolve the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. The region west of the country has been a hotbed of ethnic African uprising against the Arab-dominated government since 2003 that has displaced 2.5 million people in Sudan.