KHARTOUM, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Rebel groups said they fought off a government assault on their positions in North Darfur on Wednesday, leaving an unknown number of casualties.

No one was immediately available for comment from Sudan's armed forces. Officials this week said soldiers were in the area to defend transport routes against attacks by armed bandits. They denied government soldiers were attacking rebel positions.

Leaders from two insurgent splinter factions said they united to repel armed forces which attacked camps in more than 90 armoured vehicles, the latest in a string of clashes in the area reported in the past two weeks.

The reports of continued fighting comes at a sensitive time for the government, which is seeking international support to block a move by the international Criminal Court to indict the president for genocide and other alleged war crimes in Darfur.

Sherif Harir, from the rebel Sudan Liberation Army's Unity faction, said the fighting started at around 5.30 p.m. local time (1430 GMT) close to the town of Tawila, south west of North Darfur's capital El Fasher.

He said commanders in the field had told him rebels were now pursuing government troops back to El Fasher. Fighters from the SLA faction led by Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur fought alongside the Unity wing, said spokesman Ibrahim al-Helwu.

Officers from the undermanned joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping mission in Darfur said they were prevented from entering the territory.

More than five years of fighting in Darfur have killed 200,000 and driven another 2.5 million from their homes, say international experts. Khartoum accuses the western media of exaggerating the conflict and puts the death toll at 10,000.

Rebels launched their uprising against Khartoum in 2003, saying the government was neglecting the region. (Reporting by Andrew Heavens; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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