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SPLM/northern sector denies presence in S. Sudan

Xinhua, January 23, 2017 Adjust font size:

Rebels from Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector denied on Sunday any presence in South Sudan.

"There is no presence for the movement inside South Sudan territories at all," said Mubarak Ardol, the peace spokesman of SPLM/northern sector, in a statement.

"The movement is running liberated areas inside Sudanese territories. Our presence extends for five km from Kadogli and 24 km from Damazin," he said.

According to Ardol, there are more than one million people in the areas under the control of the SPLM/northern sector inside Sudan.

South Sudan's Defence Minister Kuol Manyang said earlier that the African Union would verify next month that there are no more Sudanese rebels in Juba.

The SPLM/northern sector has moved its forces outside Raja in Western Bahr el Ghazal, the minister added.

The Sudanese government has been fighting the rebels from SPLM/northern sector in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since 2011.

In Oct. 2016, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who accuses Juba of supporting the SPLM/northern sector rebels and Darfur armed groups, demanded that the South Sudan's government expel the Sudanese armed groups from its territories by year end. Endit