SUDAN: Government claims recapture of Torit

NAIROBI, 8 October 2002 (IRIN) - The Sudanese government on Tuesday claimed to have seized the key southern town of Torit, five weeks after its capture by rebels prompted the government to suspend peace talks. Muhammad Ahmad Dirdeiry, charge d'affaires at the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi told IRIN that government troops had taken control of the town on Tuesday morning. Khartoum had decided to retake Torit, Eastern Equatoria, to quell rumours that the government was "unable to control the situation on the south, and had its back against the wall", he said. But Samson Kwaje, spokesman for the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) denied the government's claims. "They just want to create some morale for their troops," Kwaje told IRIN. "Let them try [to take Torit]. We are waiting for them." Local sources told IRIN that it appeared the SPLM/A had made a partial withdrawal from the town, and that the government offensive was continuing. Government negotiators pulled out of peace talks in Machakos, Kenya on 2 September, saying the SPLM/A had spoiled the atmosphere of talks by attacking and capturing Torit the previous day. The talks, brokered by the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), are due to resume on Monday, after both parties agreed to a cessation of hostilities for the duration of negotiations. In a statement on Friday announcing the resumption of talks, IGAD called on both the SPLM/A and the government to "exercise maximum self-restraint and avoid any action which may jeopardise the resumption of talks". The Sudanese government on Sunday lifted a ban on relief flights of the UN-led Operation Lifeline Sudan over Eastern Equatoria and Western Equatoria one day before it was due to expire. However, aid activities were still severely restricted in Eastern Equatoria as a result of a extended list of government flight denials, according to humanitarian sources. Increased restrictions on aid access in Eastern Equatoria at the start of the month raised concerns among aid workers that the government was planning a major offensive in the area.