JEM rebels shoot down MiG in May

On May 10, 2008, the Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighters mounted an assault on the Sudanese capital. During this action, a Sudanese Air Force MiG-29 was shot down by Darfur Justice and Equality Movement rebel forces with 12.7 mm and 14.5 mm heavy machine guns fire while it was attacking a convoy of vehicles in Khartoum suburb of Omdurman. The aircraft was piloted by a Russian mercenary. He was killed in action as his parachute did not open after ejecting. Regular Sudanese forces managed to repulse the attack and Sudan accused Chad of backing JEM in its attempt. [10] [11]

la musique Chadienne

Within minutes, we heard explosions and heavy gunfire and black smoke rose above Goz Beida, a sandy town ringed by hills and camps housing tens of thousands of refugees.
In the morning, a kitchen worker was asked if the shooting had scared her. She just laughed.
“C’est la musique Chadienne” — It’s Chadian music, the local soundtrack by which people too often live their lives. here

We will fight in Khartoum

JEM deputy chief of staff Suleiman Sandal said the movement had decided to abandon the fight in Darfur and take the battle to the capital.
"We will no longer fight in Darfur and the desert, we will fight in Khartoum," Sandal said, adding that he was speaking from Omdurman.

security forces were still searching for rebels

Sudan has reimposed an indefinite curfew on the western suburb of Omdurman two days after Darfur rebels attacked the capital.

"We have now reimposed the curfew in Omdurman -- it's not known until when," a ministry official said, security forces were still searching for rebels in the area.Police spokesperson told the Sudanese radio that the curfew is re-imposed because some rebels infiltrated some Omdurman neighborhoods.

The leader of Darfur rebels JEM ,Khalid Ibrahim, told the BBC radio and Reuters he was speaking from Omdurman.

JEM rebels in a suburb of Khartoum

Sudan Officer
JEM rebels in Khartoum, capital of Sudan
Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's failure to stop the rebels reaching Khartoum, his capital, is a blow to both the administration and the prestige of the army. JEM rebels fought Sudanese troops in a suburb of Khartoum. "These forces are Chadian forces originally, they moved from there led by Khalil Ibrahim who is an agent of the Chadian regime. It is a Chadian attack," al-Bashir said. Chadian President Idriss Deby was almost toppled in February by a rebel force that made a lightning attack across Chad from near the Sudanese border. He blamed Omar Hassan al-Bashir, but Sudan denied any involvement. Chad's former colonial power France swung behind Deby when he was attacked earlier this year and remains his main backer.

France has a big component in the European Union's Eufor force near Chad's border with Darfur, which is meant to protect refugees and aid workers.
Jean-Marie Guehenno, the French head of UN peacekeeping operations warned that a reported proxy war between Sudan and Chad through rebel groups on each side of their border threatened to destabilize the region and could lead to a wider conflict.
If the Khartoum government survives, it could mean more support for the Chadian rebels to make another push against Deby.
Regardless of whether the rebels succeed in overthrowing the government, the psychological importance of the attack is huge. Khartoum has been able to live isolated from violence for decades while the Arab-dominated central government's forces have battled rebels from the regions on the peripheries of the vast state.For the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels, it is a boost for their credibility at a time Darfur rebel movements are increasingly fractured.