Darfur rebels attacked an oil field in a rare extension of their campaign eastward toward the Sudanese capital and said Monday the military garrison guarding the field had surrendered. A Sudanese military spokesman denied the army had surrendered, saying its troops had “inflicted heavy causalities on the rebels, who withdrew from the area.” The attack on the field on the edge of South Darfur appeared to be another sign that Darfur’s violence was spreading across the region The rebels claimed to have shot down an army helicopter and to have captured a “substantial amount” of weapons and military vehicles.

India: Missile test success claimed

India on Monday carried out its first successful test interception of a ballistic missile, using a second missile to destroy the incoming rocket, the Defense Ministry said. If the interceptor missile – the medium-range and nuclear-capable Prithvi 2 missile – can be transformed into a viable defense system, it would push India into an elite club of nations with working missile shields. Such a system would vastly boost India’s defensive capabilities, especially against neighboring Pakistan. The longtime rivals are both nuclear-armed.

Chile: Pinochet indicted again

Former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet was indicted Monday and ordered to remain under house arrest for the execution of two bodyguards of Salvador Allende, the freely elected Marxist president who was toppled in a 1973 coup. The indictment came after Pinochet’s 91st birthday Saturday, which he marked by issuing a statement for the first time taking full political responsibility for abuses committed by his regime.

Somalia: Floods rout thousands

Thousands of people built makeshift structures on hilltops and bridges turned into tiny islands by the overflowing Juba River in central Somalia Monday, and international agencies struggled to deliver aid to one of the most dangerous countries in the world. The Juba and Shabelle rivers in Somalia have flooded hundreds of villages. Thousands of homes remained submerged in the villages of Marere and Ormale.

Congo: Court backs Kabila victory

The supreme court on Monday upheld President Joseph Kabila’s victory in Congo’s landmark elections, ruling as unfounded the runner-up’s charges of widespread fraud in balloting meant to usher the restive Central African nation toward long-term peace and stability. Kabila won the landmark Oct. 29 runoff with 58 percent of votes, compared with about 42 percent for former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, according to the tally confirmed by the court. Bemba had challenged the results, saying that the vote was invalidated by systematic cheating.

From Herald news services