Dozens die in Sudan clashes
02/03/2008 17:44  - (SA)  

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Juba - Dozens of Arab nomads and several soldiers have been killed in clashes with forces from the ex-rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army in southern Sudan, the SPLA said on Sunday.

At least 69 nomads and nine soldiers were killed in the latest fighting in the volatile area on Saturday, said Major General Hoth Mai.

The fighting also left nearly 120 people wounded, including 97 nomads and 21 soldiers, the ex-rebel deputy chief of staff said.

"They don't want to see any SPLA there, and they want the SPLA to move 40 kilometres south, and away from the Nile," Hoth told AFP.

The fighting first erupted in December, near the disputed Abyei oil areas, leaving up to 100 dead, when the Khartoum-backed Baggara Arab militia attacked a southern army garrison who had refused to allow the armed nomads into southern Sudan.

The clashes ended after south Sudan leader and national First Vice President Salva Kiir told his forces to let the nomads move south to graze their animals, amid hopes they would return to the north during the dry season.

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