Sudan cuts ties with Chad

A curfew was lifted in Sudan's capital but residents hunkered inside and security remained tight a day after the government repulsed an unprecedented assault on Khartoum by Darfur rebels.

In the capital's twin city of Omdurman, frightened residents emerged slowly to find buildings pockmarked with bullet holes and streets littered with charred cars. Women draped in flowered gowns stepped around huge armored personnel carriers, inspecting the damage. The city's main market was closed and residents milled around on side streets, staying off main roads lined with checkpoints.

"We were worried at first, that Khartoum may again be unsafe," said Hatem, a 45-year-old Omdurman resident who would not give his last name, fearing government reprisal. "We are extremely cautious."

"Police are searching for rebels on the run and are pestering us for IDs," he said.

A curfew was lifted in Khartoum but not in Omdurman, where police told state media that more than 300 rebels were arrested and many more had tossed away their camouflage uniforms to blend in with urban civilians.

State television paraded images of captured and bloodied fighters, including the body of a man it said was an aide to a top rebel leader. Army generals received congratulations in the streets and women praised them with traditional ululating screams.

But a leader of Darfur's Justice and Equality Movement, which carried out Saturday's attack, said his fighters were still in Omdurman and would ultimately bring down the Khartoum regime.

"The government didn't finish us off," JEM commander Suleiman Sandal told The Associated Press by telephone. He said he was in Omdurman. The call was interrupted several times as Sandal dictated orders to his fighters.

"We are dealing with all this military force with all our might," he said. "This was just practice. We promise to hit Khartoum one more time unless the (Darfur) issue is resolved," Sandal said.