Sudan says rebel attack on Khartoum defeated

By Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Darfur rebels fought Sudanese troops in a suburb of Khartoum on Saturday in a bid to seize power, but the government said the attack on the capital had been defeated.

It was the first time fighting had reached the city in decades of conflict between the traditionally Arab-dominated central government of Africa's biggest country and rebels from peripheral regions that complain of neglect.

Heavy gunfire and artillery shook Omdurman, across the River Nile from the heart of Khartoum. Helicopters and armoured vehicles headed for the fighting and an overnight curfew was declared.

"The main aim of this failed terrorist sabotage attack was to provoke media coverage and let people imagine that they had the ability to enter Khartoum," Mandour al-Mahdi, political secretary of the ruling National Congress Party told state television.

"Thank God this attempt has been completely defeated. Some high level JEM commanders were killed," he said, referring to the Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels.

LIGHTNING ADVANCE

Sudan accused neighbouring Chad of backing the rebels, who made a lightning advance across some 600 km (400 miles) of desert and scrub between Darfur and Khartoum. A top official said the attack destroyed any chance of peace talks.

Chad's government denied any involvement in the attack which it condemned as an "adventure".