Darfur fighters take Sudan army base

By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Armed raiders using mortars and heavy guns seized a Sudanese army base near the Chad border in Darfur on Sunday, the second to have fallen in just over a week, international peacekeepers said.

The joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force said it could not confirm the identity of those who attacked the base at Umm Baru but suspected the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) that has been active in the area in recent months.

"Umm Baru was overrun. It has fallen," said UNAMID information director Kemal Saiki. "Our own base just a few kilometres away heard the heavy gunfire." Saiki said the attack started at around 4pm (1300 GMT) and ended around 8.30pm.

Any JEM involvement would heighten already deeply troubled relations between Sudan and Chad, as Khartoum accuses the N'Djamena government of backing the insurgent force.

It would also be the second army base JEM has taken in the area in just over a week, marking an escalation in the recent conflict.

There was no one immediately available to comment on the fighting from JEM or Sudan's armed forces.

Tensions have been building along Sudan's remote border with Chad for weeks.

The two oil producers have long accused one another of supporting each other's rebels. Chad earlier this month admitted bombing rebels inside Sudanese territory, while Khartoum says N'Djamena backs JEM, whose leaders have ethnic links with Chadian President Idriss Deby.