Sudanese army restores control in S. Kordofan

The Sudanese army on Sunday said it has restored al-Fragil an area in South Kordofan State, which is witnessing armed clashes between the army and fighters of Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)/northern sector.“The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have managed to repulse the remnants of the SPLA and completely controlled al-Fragil area, west of Al-Dalanj town in South Kordofan State,” a source quoted SAF spokesman Al-Sawarmy Khalid Saad as saying. Saad reiterated that the security situation in South Kordofan is stable. “The armed forces have led confrontations with the rebel remnants at the area and restored control over it without loss in lives or equipment,” Saad said, adding that the rebels have fled, leaving behind a number of dead members and equipment.The control of al-Fragil is a basic step to restore control over similar areas in South Kordofan, he said, affirming that the armed forces have managed to secure the major cities and the coming phase will witness the restoration of many areas that were earlier under the rebels’ control. South Kordofan State has been witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the SPLA/northern sector since last June. The SPLA/northern sector said the escalation in South Kordofan was because the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudanese army had adopted security arrangements without consulting with the movement in a bid to disarm the SPLA. Khartoum earlier ordered the SPLA forces to leave all the areas within Sudan’s territories or disarm the movement’s fighters if they wanted to stay in the north.