An overnight curfew has been imposed on Khartoum after Darfur rebels attacked a suburb of Sudan’s capital on Saturday, state television said. Heavy gunfire was heard in the west of Khartoum and helicopters and army vehicles headed towards the area, witnesses said. It is the closest the rebels have come to the centre of Khartoum.
Darfur rebels and Sudan’s army fought heavy battles in the North Kordofan province near Khartoum on Saturday, a local government official and witnesses said. The Darfur Justice and Equality Movement said it was strengthening its forces in Kordofan but not attacking government troops — to avoid causing civilian casualties.