Southern Sudan's rebels announce seizing five areas on the Blue Nile
The rebels of Southern Sudan in the "People's Army for the Liberation of Sudan" said that they had seized on Wednesday several areas in the province of the Blue Nile ( al-Nile al-Azraq) to the East of the country after they had inflicted great damage on the government's forces.
The spokesman for the rebels Yasser Arman said in a statement " our forces on Wednesday controlled five areas in the southern part of the Blue Nile, four of which are on the Banks of the Nile."
The statement added that the areas that are controlled are situated in Kilo Wadim Saad, Karo Yara, Adsi and Dandro, the last one is 100 Km from al-Damazin, the greater city of the Blue Nile.
The "People's Army for the Liberation of Sudan " also said that the government's army on March 28 launched an attack in the region and suffered several setbacks and that this army killed 70 soldiers in an attack launched by the rebels on April 13 in the southern east of al-Damazin.
The rebels army also stressed that it killed on Monday 178 soldiers in an operation to repel the government's forces progress towards the city of Karmouk in the same province which is under full control of the rebels.
Meantime, The Sudanese vice- President Ali Othman Muhammad Taha held the rebels, under the leadership of John Garang responsible for delaying the realization of peace in halting the war in Southern Sudan.
In a speech he addressed to the parliament Taha attributed the reason to the Movement's intransigence, which has been launching a war against the government since 1983 and accused it of not caring to maintain peace negotiations.
Meantime, the Sudanese minister of Justice Ali Othman Yassin said that the question of the leader of the " people's national congress" Hassan al-Turabi and leaders of his party who are arrested, are still under legal inspection. He said the papers of this case are still open and denied what has been rumored that al-Turabi will be brought before the court next week.
On another development, a delegation representing the Russian " Slavenfit " oil company will visit Sudan today ( Friday ) led by its director Mikhael Gatsereve. A source at the company said that the visit which will last for two days aims at studying the possibility of working in exploring oil in Sudan.
The chairman of the company is expected to meet with the Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-al-Bashir and with officials at the oil sector.