SUDAN: SPLM-N in retaliatory attack on South Kordofan
KHARTOUM, 9 October 2012 (IRIN) - Mortar shelling in Kadugli, capital of
Sudan's South Kordofan State, on 8 October left at least six dead and
several injured; the attacks coincided with an ongoing peace forum in the
city intended to bring together rival political parties.
The shelling saw Kadugli's largest market shut down and halted movement
around the town. Damian Rance, public information officer for the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told IRIN that all UN
staff in Kadugli, both national and international, were moved "as a
precautionary measure" to a base between Kadugli and the local airport.
The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), which has been
fighting government forces in the area for over a year, has claimed
responsibility for the attack. Accusing the Khartoum government of
conducting frequent aerial raids in the Nuba Mountains, the group said its
own attack was retaliatory.
"The NCP [ruling National Congress Party] has already started its dry season
ground and air offensive, since last month targeting Daldko and Daluka in
Kadugli area on 7 September; [launching an] attack on Surkam on 18 September
that resulted in the displacement of 6,000 civilians; and [conducting] an
aerial bombardment on 27 September on Hiban town that led to the death and
injury of seven civilians," read a statement from SPLM-N spokesman Arnu
Ngutulu Lodi.
In May,
<
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/04/sudan-crisis-conditions-southern-kordofa
n> Human Rights Watch accused the Sudanese government of "indiscriminate
bombings and abuses against civilians" in the Nuba Mountains area of
Southern Kordofan. Conflict in the area has displaced tens of thousands of
people, many of whom are now housed in
<
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96363/SOUTH-SUDAN-As-refugee-numbers-swell-d
isease-puts-pressure-on-relief-efforts> refugee camps in South Sudan.
The governor of South Kordofan, Ahmed Haroun - who is wanted by the
International Criminal Court for war crimes in Sudan's western region of
Darfur - said during a press conference that South Sudan was indirectly
responsible for the attack. He called on the country to disengage from
SPLM-N to allow the tenuous relationship between South Sudan and Sudan to
thrive.
The government of South Sudan has categorically denied any involvement in
the attack and rejects Khartoum's assertion that it provides significant
support to the SPLM-N.
Peace talks
The SPLM-N shelling in Kadugli coincided with the start of the Kadugli
Consultative Forum on Issues of Peace, in which some 15 political parties -
including the NCP, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Communists, the
Arab Bathist Socialist party, and leaders of civil administration and civil
society - are participating.
Read more
http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/page.gif
<
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/93524/SUDAN-SOUTH-SUDAN-South-Kordofan-repor
t-welcomed-but-delay-decried> SUDAN-SOUTH SUDAN: South Kordofan report
welcomed, but delay decried
http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/page.gif
<
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96363/SOUTH-SUDAN-As-refugee-numbers-swell-d
isease-puts-pressure-on-relief-efforts> SOUTH SUDAN: As refugee numbers
swell, disease puts pressure on relief efforts
http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/page.gif Briefing: Sudans' border
clashes
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/95196/Briefing-Sudans-border-clashes>
Al Shoroog TV channel, a pro-government channel, quoted Hussein Juma,
chairman of the forum's higher committee, describing the attack as a
desperate attempt to derail the talks.
Some political parties have refused to participate in the talks, with Hassan
Al Turabi, head of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), saying that the forum
"does not represent the consensus of the people of the region, particularly
as it does not involve SPLM-N".
"SPLM-N should absolutely be brought to the table for these discussions. It
is a significant force that represents the people of the Nuba Mountains,"
John Ashworth, a Sudan analyst, told IRIN. "They have regularly called for a
negotiated solution to the war, but the Sudan government will not negotiate
properly."
The forum follows a recent deal between Sudan and South Sudan to improve
security and boost trade between the two countries; the agreement was signed
on 27 September in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. The two countries,
however, failed to reach an agreement on the sovereignty of the border
region of Abyei.
SPLM-N has criticized the Addis Ababa Agreement for failing to address the
dire humanitarian situation in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile State.
According to the US Agency for International Development's
<
http://www.fews.net/docs/Publications/Sudan_OL_2012_07_final.pdf> Famine
Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), an estimated 350,000 people in
South Kordofan, 175,000 people in Blue Nile and up to 120,000 people in
Abyei are food insecure.
Humanitarian access remains a problem despite an August announcement by the
Khartoum-based government that aid would be allowed into the region. In
September, rights group The Enough Project
<
http://www.enoughproject.org/files/Enough%20Draft%20UNSC%20Resolution_Human
itarian%20Assistance_Sept%202012_FINAL%5b2%5d.pdf> accused the Sudanese
government of denying international humanitarian aid organizations access to
civilians in South Kordofan and Blue Nile; NGOs working in the area have
also called for unhindered access to these areas.
aei/kr/rz
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Received on Tue Oct 09 2012 - 14:17:43 EDT
