News Article by AFP posted on March 09, 2003 at 14:47:14: EST (-5 GMT)
Sudan rebel group claims to shoot down military helicopter
CAIRO, March 9 (AFP) -- A Sudanese armed group, the Darfur Liberation Front, (DLF) said Sunday it had shot down a military helicopter in North Darfur state carrying the local governor, in a statement received here by AFP.
The helicopter was downed near the town of Tura, 115 kilometers (72 miles) from North Darfur's main town of el-Fashir on Thursday.
The province's governor, General Ibrahim Suleiman, who is in charge of security in the province, and another unidentified official were aboard, and both survived the crash, the statement said.
According to the Sudanese press, some 300 armed men belonging to the DLF took control late February of Gulu, the main town in Jebel Marrah province in North Darfur. There they set up training camps and have been staging attacks against the army and the police.