Battle of Malakal
| Battle of Malakal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Military of Sudan + allied militia | SPLA | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~300 dead | |||||||
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.
The battle
What started as a clash between a northern militia led by Maj Gen 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 and following tank battles and the shelling of parts of Malakal town, retook their camp.
High-level delegations from the capital, Khartoum, and the southern capital, Juba, as well as UN peacekeepers have been sent to defuse the situation and a ceasefire has now been agreed, with all forces returning to their original positions.
At least 300 people were killed in clashes between Sudan's army and former rebels in the south earlier this week, aid workers say. [1]
Reactions
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "deeply concerned" over clashes that flared in the southern town of Malakal.