Sudan's air force carried out air strikes that wounded civilians in South Kordofan on Thursday, rebels said ahead of peace talks next week. "They bombed one of the villages there," Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), told AFP. He was referring to the El Debkar area about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the state capital Kadugli. Four people were wounded, he said. Sudan's army spokesman could not be reached.

A rare 10-day rebel occupation of southern Darfur ended on Wednesday when the Sudanese army announced it "liberated" the area but the insurgents said they withdrew in the face of massive force. "Today SAF liberated Muhagiriya," Sudan Armed Forces spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad told AFP. The Sudan Liberation Army's Minni Minnawi faction on April 6 began their occupation of Muhagiriya and Labado, two communities strategically located about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the South Darfur state capital Nyala, one of Sudan's largest cities.

A rare 10-day rebel occupation of southern Darfur ended on Wednesday when the Sudanese army said it "liberated" the area but the insurgents said they withdrew in the face of massive force. "Today SAF liberated Muhagiriya," Sudan Armed Forces spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad told AFP. The Sudan Liberation Army's Minni Minnawi faction on April 6 began their occupation of Muhagiriya and Labado, two communities strategically located about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the South Darfur state capital Nyala. Darfur's insurgents normally stage hit-and-run attacks.

By Khaled Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir pardoned nine army officers on Wednesday, days after they were jailed for their role in an alleged coup attempt, state news agency SUNA reported. The brief report did not say why Bashir had ordered their release - and the pardon did not include other senior officials the government said were caught up in the plot, including the country's former head of intelligence.