HIGHLIGHTS: Fighting in Mayom County in Western Upper Nile Not New, Says Khartoum||Government Denies Targeting Civilians||Sudan Wants Egypt, Libya & the Arab League to Attend Peace talks with Rebels Later this Month||Egypt Opposed to Independence for Southern Sudan|| STORY: The Sudanese government said that its forces had engaged in "military battles" in southern Sudan but that they were part of previous actions to secure oil fields or prevent future rebel attacks.

It said in a statement that it had made "contacts" to contain the fighting and avert a new flare up that would tip the military balance or spoil the atmosphere for a new round of peace talks in Kenya between the northern Arab government and southern rebels who are mainly animists and Christians.

Fighting erupted in Mayom county in Western Upper Nile, despite a July 20 framework accord between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) aimed at ending a 19-year civil war.

The statement from the office of Presidential Peace Adviser Ghazi Salah Eddin Atabani also denied that civilians were targetted in the "recent military battles" and said news reports of casualties were exaggerated.

The rebel SPLA said the government offensive started July 26 and that up to 300 people had been killed and up to 100,000 displaced through Tuesday.

Atabani's office said the "military skirmishes were a follow-up of previous military operations for securing some targetted strategic areas (like petroleum-producing areas) or preemptive operations to threats on important military or civilian areas."
The government "seeks, through contacts, to contain the situation and to avert any new confrontations that may tip the military balance or spoil the peace accomplishments and the negotiation climate in the coming round," the statement said.

"The firmest guarantee for supporting peace and securing the (life of) civilians is reaching an agreement for halting hostilities or a comprehensive ceasefire," Atabani was quoted by his office statement as saying.

Meanwhile in Cairo, Sudan's Information Minister Mahdi Ibrahim also said the government's forces were involved in fighting in southern Sudan, but "the Sudanese government must defend Sudanese territory against any aggression.

"That's what happened lately," he told journalists in Cairo when asked about the accusations by the SPLA.

SUDAN WANTS EGYPT, LIBYA & ARAB LEAGUE TO ATTEND PEACE TALKS

The Sudanese government meanwhile says it wants Egypt, Libya and the Arab League to attend next month's peace talks with rebels, the Sudan's information minister said in Cairo Wednesday.

Information Minister Mahdi Ibrahim and State Security Minister Yehia Hussein arrived in the Egyptian capital intending to see Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday to explain the framework peace accord reached with Sudanese rebels on July 20.

Egypt has complained of a lack of information about the accord that was endorsed by Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir and John Garang, leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army, at a meeting in Uganda on Saturday.

The Egyptian government is known to be opposed to independence for southern Sudan as it would create another state on the Nile river - the major source of Egypt's water. The peace agreement provides for an eventual referendum on independence for the south, from where the SPLA draws its support.

PHOTO CAPTION

Sudan has launched a major offensive against rebels in the south just days after announcing a breakthrough in talks aimed at ending their 19-year war, aid workers and rebels said on July 30, 2002. The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which made a deal with Khartoum on July 20 resolving the war's two key issues, said more than 1,000 people had been killed since the government began its attack in Western Upper Nile region. (Reuters Graphic)