BEIJING, Dec. 29 -- Twenty-one militants from rebel groups in Sudan have been killed in a clash with government troops in the country's mid-western Kordofan Province.

    Sudan's Interior Ministry said seven government soldiers, two policemen and several militiamen lost their lives in the fighting.

    All the militants were from the volatile Darfur region.

    The Sudanese government signed a ceasefire deal with rebel groups in April to end the one-year conflict in the western Darfur region.

    However, the peace deal was not strictly implemented and recently the rebels have attacked areas outside Darfur.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)