The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army North said on Friday that it repulsed an advance by government troops on a village in South Kordofan state, killing “70 enemy combatants” in a lengthy battle.
Fighting in South Kordofan between the SPLM/A-N and the government has intensified since Sudan and South Sudan signed a security deal on 27 September dictating cessation of support to rebel groups in each other’s territories.
The rebels, who fought as part of South Sudan army in the past, forged a coalition in November last year with three rebel groups from Sudan’s western region of Darfur under the name Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), vowing joint military operations to topple the government.