<p>Rebels from the SPLM-North attacked a checkpoint in the Kurgul area yesterday, around 35 kilometres south of Deleng, reportedly killing 12 Sudanese soldiers at around 1100 IST, a UN source told AFP, requesting anonymity.<br /><br />Three vehicles were caught in the crossfire, including two private buses and a car belonging to an international NGO, in which a Sudanese staff member was killed and his driver seriously wounded, the source added.<br /><br />The road, the main land route to South Kordofan state's capital Kadugli, runs through a mountainous area known to host SPLM-North rebels. Fighting between the Sudanese army and SPLM/A militiamen in South Kordofan broke out in June, just one month before the independence of South Sudan.<br /><br />Separate clashes yesterday indicate that four months later the conflict, which was apparently triggered by the army's insistence on disarming SPLA elements, is still intense.<br /><br />The SPLM/A fought with the former rebel army of the south during their decades-long war with Khartoum. Earlier, the rebels and the army reported heavy fighting in the state's eastern Rashad district, with both claiming to have killed dozens on the opposing side.<br /><br />Khartoum has sought to reassert its authority within its new borders since South Sudan's recognition as the world's newest nation on July 9, moving to disarm troops outside its control.<br /><br />South Kordofan and Blue Nile, where a similar conflict broke out on September 2, are located just north of Sudan's new international border. But they both have large numbers of SPLM-North supporters and troops, who have historic political ties to Khartoum's former civil war enemies, now the ruling party in Juba.</p>
<p>Rebels from the SPLM-North attacked a checkpoint in the Kurgul area yesterday, around 35 kilometres south of Deleng, reportedly killing 12 Sudanese soldiers at around 1100 IST, a UN source told AFP, requesting anonymity.<br /><br />Three vehicles were caught in the crossfire, including two private buses and a car belonging to an international NGO, in which a Sudanese staff member was killed and his driver seriously wounded, the source added.<br /><br />The road, the main land route to South Kordofan state's capital Kadugli, runs through a mountainous area known to host SPLM-North rebels. Fighting between the Sudanese army and SPLM/A militiamen in South Kordofan broke out in June, just one month before the independence of South Sudan.<br /><br />Separate clashes yesterday indicate that four months later the conflict, which was apparently triggered by the army's insistence on disarming SPLA elements, is still intense.<br /><br />The SPLM/A fought with the former rebel army of the south during their decades-long war with Khartoum. Earlier, the rebels and the army reported heavy fighting in the state's eastern Rashad district, with both claiming to have killed dozens on the opposing side.<br /><br />Khartoum has sought to reassert its authority within its new borders since South Sudan's recognition as the world's newest nation on July 9, moving to disarm troops outside its control.<br /><br />South Kordofan and Blue Nile, where a similar conflict broke out on September 2, are located just north of Sudan's new international border. But they both have large numbers of SPLM-North supporters and troops, who have historic political ties to Khartoum's former civil war enemies, now the ruling party in Juba.</p>