Darfur rebel leader Ebrahim dead, Sudan says

Khartoum: Sudan's armed forces claimed on Sunday to have killed the head of the western Darfur region's most powerful rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

"The armed forces clashed in a direct confrontation with Khalil Ebrahim's rebel forces, and were able to eliminate Khalil Ebrahim," Al Sawarmi Khalid, Sudan's armed forces spokesman told state television.

Ebrahim's death, if confirmed, could represent a serious blow to the rebel group, although tightly restricted access to Darfur and Sudan's other conflict zones makes it almost impossible to accurately gauge the real strength and internal unity of insurgent groups.

The armed forces spokesman said Ebrahim and other leaders had been trying to enter South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in July under a 2005 peace deal that ended a separate, decades-long civil war.

JEM could not immediately be reached for comment.