Sudanese troops close in on last rebel stronghold in South Kordofan

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/14/-sp-fighting-in-sudan-nuba-mountains-intensifies

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Government forces are advancing on the last rebel stronghold in the Nuba Mountain region of southern Sudan, in an attempt to deal a decisive blow in a conflict that has raged since 2011.

Fighting between rebel groups and Khartoum’s forces has intensified over the past week, with the latter now reported to be situated just 20km east of the strategic town of Kauda. It is the closest government forces have come to the town, which serves as the de facto capital of rebel-controlled South Kordofan.

Thousands of civilians are within range of the government’s heavy weapons, raising fears that they may be caught in the crossfire, or even targeted.

The area experienced relative calm after the 2005 deal between president Omar al-Bashir’s government in Khartoum, and southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) rebels, which led to South Sudan’s 2011 secession.

But fighters in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, known as SPLM-North, were left on the wrong side of the newly drawn border. In the lead-up to the split in 2011, conflict broke out again in these areas.

Meanwhile, the last rebel stronghold in South Kordafan is about to be overrun by Sudanese gov proxies http://t.co/349Qvo6iQh

The conflict has left thousands living in dire conditions, and reports say more than 250,000 people have fled to neighbouring South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Now, fighting has intensified again, after Bashir’s vow to end all conflicts in the country before the general elections in April.

On 6 January, a large joint force of the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) moved from the city of Talodi into the nearby town of Kega, an opposition stronghold, and began shelling nearby rebel positions.

According to civilians, hundreds of artillery shells have hit the area around Kauda, Keya and Talodi, in addition to aerial attacks from government fighter jets and Antonov bombers. Some residents reported seeing drones circle overhead.

The RSF are a paramilitary unit comprised of Janjaweed militia previously employed by the government to battle rebels in Darfur. Since 2011 the force has been retrained and redeployed to aid the government in its fight against the SPLA-North in South Kordofan state.

After several days of sustained bombardment, on the morning of 9 January, the combined force launched a frontal assault on SPLA-North positions at Angartu, a small town 20km east of Kauda.

Civilians have taken shelter inside rebel held territory but it is unclear how long it will remain safe. Civilian bombardment continues at an unprecedented pace, and with government forces massed on both sides of the Nuba Mountains, residents are preparing for more fierce fighting.