The Sudanese government says it has driven out the last of the Darfur rebel group that attacked the capital Khartoum on Saturday.

A senior official said searches were continuing across Khartoum for individuals thought to be insiders who may have helped the insurgents.

State television said earlier that at least 100 people had been arrested.

The government also said it had cut off diplomatic ties with Chad, blaming it for helping rebels launch the attack.

Both Chad and Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) rebels denied working together to launch the assault on the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman, which the rebels said they had taken control of.

Right to retaliate

Official media said government forces were hunting down rebel forces around the capital and its outskirts, seizing arms and explosives.

A senior Jem commander and a 45-strong force had been killed, Suna news agency said.

Sudan has offered a reward of $125,000 (£64,000) for Jem leader Khalid Ibrahim's capture and information that leads to his arrest, state TV reported.

A curfew was lifted in the city but remained in force in Omdurman.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced the break with Chad on state television.

He added his country reserved the right to retaliate against its western neighbour.

But the chairman of the Jem Legislative Council, Dr Eltahir Adam Elfaki, said the group acted alone and denied Chad's involvement.

"Jem is self-dependent. It is a force that built itself from the equipment of the Sudan government following our activities against the Sudan government," he told the BBC from Libya.

Chad's government said it regretted Sudan's "hasty decision" to break off diplomatic relations.

It also denied any involvement in the attack on Khartoum.

'No security'

On Saturday, Jem rebels claimed to have taken the Wadi Saidna air force base about 10 miles (16 km) north of Khartoum, the suburb of Omdurman across the River Nile from Khartoum, and to have entered the capital.

Residents in Omdurman said there had been more fighting on Sunday morning.

A rebel commander, Suleiman Sandal, told the BBC that the attack sent out a clear message that while there was no security in Darfur, there was none in Khartoum either.

Experts say Chad and Sudan are fighting a proxy war using each other's rebels to achieve their military objectives.

The Jem is one of several rebel groups fighting the government and pro-government Janjaweed militia in the western Darfur region since 2003 over alleged discrimination by the authorities in favour of Arabs.

The rebels have been involved in raids on government forces in the area before.

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(BBC)

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