Tensions between Sudan and Egypt and South Sudan seem headed for an escalation with Khartoum accusing the two of supporting the Darfur rebels.

President Omar al-Bashir Tuesday said Cairo and Juba were arming the rebel movements in the troubled western Sudan region.

In an address at the Defence ministry in Khartoum, President Bashir emphasised that the Sudanese army had captured Egyptian-made weapons from the rebels during the recent clashes.

"They came with 64 military vehicles but we defeated them, destroying 59 of them and we captured Egyptian tanks and armoured vehicles in the hands of the rebels," he stressed.

"The Egyptians never supported us with even one bullet while we were fighting in the past 17 years, under the excuses that they would not intervene in a domestic issue," he stated.

The local media has recently reported clashes between the government and rebel forces around the disputed Halaybe on the Red Sea border.

Sudanese troops are fighting rebels in three conflict regions — Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

Cairo and Juba were yet to react to the fresh accusations.

READ: Sudan president accuses Egypt of backing opponents

Egypt and Sudan had last month agreed to ease the diplomatic tensions and stop a media war between the two neighbour countries.

President Bashir further described the recent clashes with the rebels as a big conspiracy against Sudan, adding that the insurgents penetrated Darfur in two convoys through South Sudan and Libya.

One of the main Darfur rebel movements Tuesday admitted the arrest of its force commander in battles against the government troops on Monday.

Sudanese armed forces, backed by the militias of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), clashed with the rebels of the Sudan Liberation Movement/ Mini Arko Minawi (SLM/MM) faction in Darfur on Saturday, two days after the African Union confirmed that the security situation in the region had improved.

READ: AU lauds improved security in Darfur

Both sides have claimed victory, but without giving the casualty figures.

Last month, the UN said that Darfur rebel movements had a presence in Libya, a claim the latter denied.