The Sudan People's Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N) on Wednesday claimed it shot down a Sudanese Air Force helicopter gunship east of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan.

Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, spokesman for the SPLA-N, said the helicopter crashed in an area south of Delling during the fighting with the Sudanese forces. “Despite intense media cover-ups and heavy guarding of the crash site, the truth became apparent,” he said in a press release.

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) spokesman, Colonel El Sawarmi Khaled Saad, told the pro-government Ashorooq TV that the chopper crashed as a result of a malfunction that was known to them. He said the pilot reported this situation to the headquarters after which he was evacuated from the area. “The claims by the SPLA-N are unfounded lies.”

The SAF has announced more ferocious military operations against the rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, which it has been fighting since 2011. Meanwhile on Wednesday, the SPLM-N delegation reiterated its seriousness about a comprehensive solution to Sudan's conflicts in the African Union-led negotiations with the government's delegation in Addis Ababa.

On Saturday, the SPLA-N announced the killing of 15 Sudanese army and militia troops, and the wounding of others, in El Atmor, east of Kadugli. Saad denied these reports, claiming they repelled the rebels, and 50 of them were killed in the process.

Photo: The army helicopter, by the SPLA-N claimed to be shot down, in South Kordofan.