Sudan rebel defeat

Government troops in southern Sudan backed by a local militia captured a strategic airport from rebels in the north of Baher Al-Ghazal state, a government-backed newspaper said on June 30.

Akhbar Alyoum newspaper reported that Khartoum's troops were supported by a former rebel faction which split from the mainstream rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army. Faustino Atem Gwaldet, deputy commander of the newly-formed South Sudan Defense force, told the paper the militia had seized Bantu airport, about 40 km north of Qoko.