SLM Secretary General Mani Arkoi Minawi told AFP in a telephone call his forces "annihiliated" an unspecified number of soldiers" Thursday and had captured 25 vehicles, as well as arms, including rocket launchers and heavy machine guns.

The attack was in the Adar area of North Darfur state.

Minawi said Sunday the SLM wanted to join the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels in peace talks with the government.

He reported that his movement had decided to "begin a dialogue with the Sudan People's Liberation Army in order to reach a comprehensive solution on the entire Sudanese territory."

The SLM has claimed a number of attacks in the Darfur region since it surfaced for the first time in February.

The government has refused to acknowledge any political motivation for unrest in the states of North, South and West Darfur, blaming it instead on "armed criminal gangs and outlaws," who it says are aided by tribes from neighboring Chad.

WAR.WIRE