Sudan Army Says South Kordofan Rebel Base Seized

Sudanese troops on Friday captured a rebel position in South Kordofan, the military said Friday, as the United Nations voiced concern for civilians caught in fighting between the two sides.

"At noon today our armed forces liberated al-Atmur region, which is a military base... where the rebels stocked heavy weapons, including cannons and multiple rocket launchers," army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad told Agence France Presse.

Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) rebels used the base to launch mortar attacks on South Kordofan's state capital Kadugli, 45 kilometers (30 miles) away, he said.

The rebels were not immediately available for comment.

Ethnic minority rebels in South Kordofan have been fighting government forces for three years in a largely-hidden war which the United Nations says has affected more than one million people.

In its weekly bulletin, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said civilians continue to bear the brunt of the fighting in South Kordofan "with more people displaced and civilian structures hit in SPLM-N areas."

"Over the past week, 59 bombs were dropped in the immediate vicinity of Kauda," a rebel stronghold, said OCHA, citing reports from international and local aid groups.

"While no civilian casualties were reported, the aerial bombings hit a number of civilian structures, including an office of a local aid organization, a market, an orphans' school, and a former hospital."

In mid-May, the army announced the capture of Dalkako region, northeast of Kadugli, and days later flew journalists to the area, allowing a rare visit to a war zone where access is restricted.