The SPLA claimed it had captured two government garrisons in the Nuba Mountains. The SPLA 27th Brigade took Barkandi on August 8 after a three-hour long battle. Nine Sudanese government troops died in the attack. The SPLA also claimed it captured the garrison commander, identified as Lieutenant Mohamed Ali Abdalla. On August 16 the SPLA 26th Brigade took the town of Dari. IN a follow-up to an earlier SPLA report, an SPLA spokesman said that the August 9 convoy attack near Panaru resulted in the destruction of a battalion-sized convoy belonging to the governments 20th Independent Brigade. The spokesman described that attack as pre-emptive. Pre-empting what? Further oil exploration in south Sudan.