[Pak Daily Times] Heavy fighting... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting...
between the Sudanese army and southern-aligned rebels in the embattled state of South Kordofan has killed at least 19 government troops, a rebel front man said on Monday.
"There was heavy fighting on Saturday in Warni, in the far east of Talodi locality. The SPLA repelled an attack by the army. They left 19 bodies on the ground," Arnu Ngutulu Lodi told AFP.
The Sudanese army front man could not immediately be reached for comment.
Lodi said the festivities followed three days of fighting in the northern Rashad locality, where the rebels managed to expel the army from the Abu al-Hassan area, and that the two sides were battling on Monday in the Taruje area, near the disputed southern border. "The fighting now is going on in Taruje. There are heavy artillery bombardments. The SPLA has surround the SAF (Sudanese armed forces), who are under a lot of pressure. Any time now they will be driven out," he claimed.
The conflict erupted in South Kordofan in June between the army and snuffies who fought alongside the ex-southern rebels during their 22-year conflict with the north, as Khartoum moved to assert its authority within its borders ahead of South Sudan's independence in July.