Sudan: S Sudan treating wounded Darfur rebels

Darfur rebels wounded in the latest fighting with Sudanese troops have gone to South Sudan for treatment, the army said on Tuesday, as Khartoum pushes Juba to end what is says is its backing for rebels. The army and insurgents gave conflicting accounts of Monday's fighting, which came while Sudanese negotiators at fragile peace talks in Addis Ababa turned down South Sudan's proposal for settling oil fees and other critical issues by a United Nations-imposed deadline of August 2. Khartoum said security is a key priority and issues such as South Sudan's alleged backing of rebels need to be settled. In a statement issued by the official SUNA news agency, Sudanese army spokesman, Sawarmi Khaled Saad, said the government killed more than 50 fighters of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and wounded a large number of others. The fighting erupted just inside South Kordofan state near southeastern Darfur. Saad said a "big number of vehicles were seen carrying the injured elements of the rebels for treatment in South Sudan." Casualty claims are difficult to verify in the region, where access is restricted,. In a statement late on Monday, the JEM made no mention of killed or wounded but said it had seized 36 military vehicles as it gained control of the Tabaldi oil field, as well as the Karkada area. The rebels earlier Monday said they had seized control of a Sudanese military compound in the same region. Sudan accuses South Sudan of working with the JEM and of backing insurgencies in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. The South denies supporting the rebels but suspected JEM fighters were seen alongside its troops during border fighting between Sudan and South Sudan in April. On Sunday, the JEM again denied any presence in South Sudan, which accuses the north of backing insurgents in the South as well. The U.N. has called on both sides to halt any such support, under a May 2 Security Council resolution which ordered a ceasefire along the border. The resolution gave the two sides until August 2 to settle critical issues, including a dispute over oil, unresolved after the South's separation in July last year. At African Union-led talks in the Ethiopian capital, Sudan on Monday rejected South Sudan's proposal of a higher oil transit fee and an $8.2 billion financial deal. "We think security is a prerequisite," Mutrif Siddiq, a member of Khartoum's delegation, told reporters. pile of chemical weapons, we will continue to make it clear to Assad and those around him that the world is watching," Obama told an audience of U.S. veterans in the western state of Nevada. "They will be held accountable by the international community and the United States should they make the tragic mistake of using those weapons," he said. Earlier, Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi had warned Syria could use chemical weapons if attacked by outsiders, although he back-tracked later to clarify that he was not confirming Damascus has such arms. "Syria will not use any chemical or other unconventional weapons against its civilians, and will only use them in case of external aggression," he said.  Syria is in the grip of a 16-month-long conflict triggered by Assad's bloody repression of a pro-democracy revolt. Western and Arab powers have called for him to step down and allow an orderly transition of power.