The Sudanese army repelled an attack by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in the restive in the southern state of South Kordofan, military spokesman Al-Sawarmy Khaled said Sunday.
At least 50 rebels were killed and dozens of others were wounded in a desperate attempt by the SPLM-N to recapture the strategic Al-Atmor area, the spokesman said, noting that the rebels lost the area to the government troops on June 6.
The armed forces managed to rout the attackers and seized large quantities of munitions and vehicles; they are keen on the safety of the citizens who suffer from the tyranny of insurgents, he added.
On their part, the SPLM-N claimed in a statement that they killed 15 soldiers and destroyed a tank in their attack on Kadugli city, the provincial capital of South Kordofan.
The state has been in turmoil since June, 2011, when the SPLM-N rejected the government request to lay down arms after the civil war which ended with the independence of South Sudan from the Republic of Sudan in the same year.