Sudan Military Assaults

In their biggest offensive of this nation's decade-old civil war, government forces have routed southern rebels from several key towns and are driving toward the Ugandan border, Western and Arab diplomats said Friday. The rebels--made up of Christians and pagans from the black south--broke and ran last week from Kajo Kaji, their main supply center. They now control only one town, Nimule, on the White Nile.

The Sudanese government and southern rebels exchanged accusations over who was responsible for shooting at a Red Cross plane and killing its co-pilot over southern Sudan on Wednesday. The plane was hit twice about halfway through its flight from Lokichokio, Kenya, to Juba, Sudan. One exploding shell damaged the cockpit and killed the co-pilot and another damaged the right wing, said Michael Kleiner, a Red Cross spokesman in Nairobi.

The Sudanese government and southern rebels exchanged accusations over who was responsible for shooting at a Red Cross plane and killing its co-pilot over southern Sudan on Wednesday. The plane was hit twice about halfway through its flight from Lokichokio, Kenya, to Juba, Sudan. One exploding shell damaged the cockpit and killed the co-pilot and another damaged the right wing, said Michael Kleiner, a Red Cross spokesman in Nairobi.

In their biggest offensive of this nation's decade-old civil war, government forces have routed southern rebels from several key towns and are driving toward the Ugandan border, Western and Arab diplomats said Friday. The rebels--made up of Christians and pagans from the black south--broke and ran last week from Kajo Kaji, their main supply center. They now control only one town, Nimule, on the White Nile.