Sudan launches military offensive against Darfur rebels

Khartoum: Sudan launched a military offensive against militant strongholds in Darfur's far north, two rebel groups said on Wednesday.

The army attacked with more than 200 vehicles in Wadi Atron, near the Sudanese-Libyan border on Tuesday, seizing control of areas which had been under rebel control for years.
The rebel factions said they considered this new aggression “a declaration of war''.

The Sudanese army spokesman declined to comment, but one source confirmed there were operations under way but could not give details.

Rebel groups have clashed with Sudan's government for years over the territory in a bloody conflict that has killed as many as 200,000 people and displaced over 2.5 million people, international experts estimate.