The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) has captured the symbolically important southern town of Torit.

The Sudanese armed forces said that they withdrew from the town after two days of shelling and attacks by the rebels but intend to recapture it.

The SPLA says it captured Torit on Sunday but denied shelling the town, according to the French news agency, AFP.

The capture of the town comes as peace talks between the SPLA and the Sudanese Government continue in Machakos in Kenya to work out the details of a peace agreement.

The BBC's Alfred Taban in Khartoum says that Torit is an important town for the southern-based SPLA rebels, as it was the scene of the first southern uprising against the central government in 1955.

But he says that despite the fighting around the town, both sides still appear to be committed to the pursuit of peace.

Spirit of war

The Sudanese armed forces said that the SPLA attack on the town had included shelling, "which affected the citizens" forcing the army to withdraw.

In statement broadcast by the government-controlled radio and television, an armed forces spokesman said that despite the peace talks, the SPLA "preferred to promote the spirit of war instead of peace".

The Sudanese army says it will retake Torit

The rebels denied the shelling of the town but said that the SPLA forces attacked the town and captured it at 1320 (1020 GMT) on 1 September.

SPLA spokesman Yasser Armane told AFP: "SPLA forces forced back the government forces that were attacking our positions outside Torit and were able to capture the town."

Mutual recriminations

Both sides accused each other of starting the fighting in the Blue Nile and Eastern Equatoria regions of southern Sudan.

The BBC's Alfred Taban told Network Africa that both sides were fighting to gain territory as the peace talks proceeded.

He said that he expected the government forces to respond with artillery and air attacks against the SPLA in Torit.

The Sudanese armed forces spokesman said on Sudanese radio that, "the armed forces in the town were forced to withdraw under pressure from the enemy so as to follow events and to prepare for recapturing it as soon as possible, God willing".