Nairobi/Khartoum - Some 43 rebels and 20 government soldiers died in a battle for control of a military base in North Darfur, the Sudanese military said Monday. Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attacked a base near the border with Chad on Sunday.
The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) first said that JEM had taken Um Baru, about 100 kilometres from the Chad border.
However, UNAMID spokesman Kemal Saiki told the Sudan News Agency on Monday that UNAMID's initial information was wrong and that the government had repelled the attack.
The rebels did, however, take Kornoi, 50 kilometres west of Um Baru, the previous week.
UNAMID condemned the fighting and said that humanitarian aid was needed to support civilians displaced by the fighting.
A new round of peace talks between JEM and the Sudanese government is set to get underway on Wednesday in Doha, Qatar.
According to the UN, as many as 300,000 people have died and 2 million have been displaced in six years of conflict in Darfur.
Tensions have been rising near the Sudan-Chad border in recent weeks.
Sudan accuses Chad of supporting the Darfur rebels, while Chad believes Sudan is supporting rebel groups trying to topple Chadian President Idriss Deby.
Chad has in recent weeks attacked rebels on Sudanese soil, although Sudan has yet to follow up on threats to retaliate.
