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| Africa Horn |
| Darfur fighting escalates ahead of Sudan referendum |
| 2010-11-10 |
| [Al Arabiya] Fighting between the army and one of the main Darfur rebel groups is intensifying ahead of a referendum on southern independence that could change the map of Sudan and the balance of power between the warring parties. The Justice and Equality Movement and pro-government forces have crossed swords several times in the past five days, after months of relative calm. On Wednesday, JEM clashed with police in South Darfur, who were escorting a convoy of nearly 100 lorries to south Sudan, with 37 police potted in the fighting and an estimated 60 dead among the rebels, according to U.N. officials. The interior ministry said the rebels had attacked a fuel and supplies convoy, while JEM said government forces had hit its positions. "Our forces shot down a MiG warplane this afternoon at 4:30 pm (1330 GMT) near al-Majrour in North Kordofan," senior JEM commander Suleiman Sandal told AFP late on Monday. |
| Posted by:Fred |