Battle of Malakal
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Battle of Malakal | |||||||
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Part of the Second Sudanese Civil War aftermath | |||||||
Location of Malakal in Sudan |
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Combatants | |||||||
Military of Sudan, allied militias |
Sudan People's Liberation Army | ||||||
Commanders | |||||||
Gabriel Tang | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties | |||||||
about 150 dead [1][2] |
The Battle of Malakal occurred at the end of November 2006 in the southern Sudanese town of Malakal. The clashes between Sudanese government forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Army were the most serious breach of a 2005 deal to end the Second Sudanese Civil War.
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[edit] Battle
What started as a clash between a northern militia led by Major General Gabriel Tang and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), former rebels, escalated when the militia took shelter in a Sudanese army garrison. The garrison was besieged and then the SPLA stormed the base.
The next day the Sudanese army returned. Following tank battles and the shelling of parts of Malakal town, inflicting high civilian casualties, fighting escalated into full trench warfare between the northern Sudanese Armed Forces and the SPLA.[1]
High-level delegations from the capital, Khartoum, and the southern capital, Juba, as well as United Nations peacekeepers have been sent to defuse the situation and a ceasefire has been agreed, with all forces returning to their original positions.
[edit] Aftermath
At least 150 people were killed in the clashes between Sudan's army and former rebels in the south, along with 400 to 500 wounded, according to a U.N. official. Corpses of people killed during the fighting contaminated part of the Nile river, on which civilians were depending for drinking water, the U.N. said.[2]
[edit] Reactions
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "deeply concerned" over clashes that flared in the southern town of Malakal.[3]
[edit] Sources and notes
- ^ "Hundreds killed in south Sudan clashes: ex-officer", Reuters, November 30, 2006.
- ^ "UN puts death toll from south Sudan clashes at 150", Reuters (Sudan Tribune), December 3, 2006.
- ^ Statement from the Secretary-General, November 29, 2006