A major Darfur rebel leader and some of his top leaders have been killed, a Sudanese army spokesman announced on state-run radio Sunday.

"Our armed forces were able to destroy the renegade Khalil Ibrahim, who died along with members of [his group's] leadership that was with him," said Alswarmi Khalid, the army's spokesperson.

Khalid said Ibrahim and members of his group were surrounded and killed in the Wad Banda area - along the border between of North Darfur state and North Kordofan state, as they attempted to escape to South Sudan.