The army said Thursday it had pushed back a rebel attack on strategic areas in eastern Sudan. Speaking on state-run television and radio, army spokesman Gen. Mohamed Basher Suliman said southern rebels launched simultaneous attacks early Thursday on army posts in five border areas in the eastern province of Kassala, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of Khartoum.

The areas that came under attack included the town of Hamashkoraib, which was in rebel hands for eight months in 2000 before government troops retook it.

Spokesmen for the Sudan People's Liberation Army, the main southern rebel group fighting the government, were not available for comment.

Northern and southern opposition groups, including the SPLA, are banded together in the Eritrea-based National Democratic Alliance, but the border area has not seen any military activity recently.

Relations between Sudan and Eritrea were restored in 2000 after six years of charges that each was supporting rebel groups fighting the other's government.

The government suspended peace talks with the SPLA last month when the rebels captured a town in southern Sudan. The talks were aimed at reaching a final agreement after the two sides signed a landmark peace framework in Kenya July 20 to end 19 years of war.

PHOTO CAPTION
(L) Sudanese President, Omar Al-Basheer; (Top R): Sudan rebel leader, John Garang, (Bottom R): Sudan rebel army (SPLA).