شكرا سعادة الفريق اول عصمت رئيس هيئة الاركان فأنت للعفو اهل

Quote: June 4, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese journalist was arrested on Tuesday night following a complaint filed against him by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) over a report attributed to him detailing events that occurred during a visit by top military officials to an area in South Kordofan recently taken back by Khartoum from rebels. Al-Sudani reporter Khalid Ahmed (Facebook) Khalid Ahmed, who works in the privately-owned al-Sudani newspaper, was one of three reporters who accompanied SAF chief of staff Lieutenant General Ismat Abdel-Rahman to Abu-Kershola. Abu-Kershola which is located in north east of South Kordofan state and on the border with North Kordofan, had been seized by the rebel Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) fighters in late April, but SAF was able to recapture the town last week. SRF rebels however, claimed it withdrew voluntarily for humanitarian reasons The disputed report which was published on several Sudanese websites and seen by Sudan Tribune showed a demoralized and ill-prepared army struggling to defend the area which was still surrounded by SRF rebels. Ahmed has reportedly claimed that his email and Facebook page were hacked allowing the infiltrators to get hold of his photos in Abu-Kershola and maliciously edit his original report filed with al-Sudani to include false accounts. Calls made by Sudan Tribune to al-Sudani editor in Chief Mr. Diaa al-Deen Balal went unanswered. Ahmed is scheduled to appear tomorrow at the state security prosecutor’s office. According to the report, the convoy of Lt. Gen. Abdel-Rahman moving just outside Abu-Kershola to inspect troops came under heavy fire from SRF rebels in the nearby mountains forcing them to retreat back to city center. From there Brigadier General Adil Ali al-Kinani, who headed the SAF unit which recaptured Abu-Kershola, started directing tanks to advance and take positions to fire on rebel positions. Another senior officer who held the rank of Major General in the SAF air force was speaking via radio to call for military aircrafts in North Kordofan capital city of al-Obeid to come and help fend off a potential rebel attack, the report said. Once the military helicopter arrived, the unnamed general started directing it to attack the rebels in the mountains only to be shot down 15 minutes later prompting criticism from one of his peers in the ground forces for "misjudgment" and involving it in the battle without knowledge of the situation on the ground. The report also claimed that during these heated and dramatic moments, the army chief of staff went to take a nap under the tree to the point where they could hear him snore. Last Friday SRF rebels said that they downed a military helicopter near Abu Kershola but the army denied the rebel claims saying it came down because of a technical failure. A few hours later, the military officers devised a plan that would enable them to reach the helicopter and leave safely without being fired upon from rebels. Acting on the plan, seven tanks started shelling the mountains heavily to allow the helicopter carrying the top SAF leaders to take off safely. The report also included several items that likely aggravated SAF including the observation that soldiers had to make their own meals as opposed to having a specialized unit prepare it for them. It also witnessed injured soldiers laying under the trees. Some of the Abu-Kershola residents who allegedly spoke to the reporter denied government claims of mass killings and rape carried out by SRF during their one-month occupation. (ST)