Rebels say still fighting in Sudan oil state
KHARTOUM Nov 2 (Reuters) – Sudanese insurgents in the country’s main oil-producing state South Kordofan battled government forces in a volatile border region for a second day on Wednesday, a rebel spokesman said.
Sudan’s military denied the assertion, however, saying the region was quiet after the army repulsed a rebel attack on Tuesday.
Fighting along Sudan’s border with South Sudan has complicated talks over unresolved issues such as how to manage the formerly integrated oil industry, and analysts say it has threatened to drag the old civil war foes into a proxy conflict.
The countries have accused one another of backing rebel groups in areas near the border since South Sudan split off into a separate country in July.
Qamar Dalman, a spokesman for the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N) in South Kordofan, said insurgents were continuing to advance on the town of Taludi on Wednesday.
“There is heavy fighting around Taludi between SPLA forces and the Sudanese army. The SPLA army is very close to the city. The Sudanese army is bombing from military planes,” he said by telephone.
Al-Sawarmi Khalid, Sudan’s army spokesman, dismissed the claim. “There is not any fighting or clashes today around Taludi. Everything is quiet,” he said.
Both sides claimed to have killed hundreds of their opponents during a rebel assault on Taludi on Tuesday, although neither report was possible to verify independently.
Conflict has torn South Kordofan and Blue Nile, both states on Sudan’s side of the border and home to tens of thousands of fighters who sided with the south during a decades-long civil war that killed some 2 million people.
Rebels say they have been politically and economically marginalised by Sudan’s government, while Khartoum accuses the insurgents of trying to spread chaos and says it will not tolerate armed rebel militias on its side of the border.
South Sudan seceded after voting for independence in a January referendum promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended one of Africa’s longest and deadliest civil wars. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E7M22QG20111102
UN: South Sudan rebels kill nine civilians during weekend attacks
The attacks were carried out by the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) on Saturday morning against Mayom, a community in Unity State. At least nine civilians are believed to have been killed, including four children, while two others have been reported missing and presumed dead.
Aleem Siddique, a spokesperson for the UN operation in South Sudan (UNMISS), said armed forces and police officers eventually repelled the attack and the situation in Mayom, which is the headquarters of the county which carries the same name, has since calmed.
A team of peacekeepers, medical staff and civilian experts were deployed to the area on Sunday by UNMISS to help local authorities deal with the aftermath of the attack while the mission also evacuated several wounded civilians to a UN hospital in the town of Bentiu, the state capital.
Siddique said the mission is deeply concerned by the killings, which followed a warning from the SSLA urging staff from the UN and non-governmental organizations to leave the area for their own safety.
“We remain firmly committed to serving the people of South Sudan,” Siddique said, stressing that UNMISS is not evacuating its staff from either Unity or neighboring Warrap state. He also said the mission will work closely with state and national authorities in the new country to tackle causes of insecurity.
In July, South Sudan became independent after a referendum in which voters overwhelmingly backed secession from Sudan. The country has experienced a series of deadly inter-ethnic clashes since its independence, as well as fighting involving rebel groups opposed to the Government.
At least 600 people were killed and more than 750 others were injured in late August when tribal clashes erupted in the state of Jonglei. The clashes originated between the Murle and Lou Nuer communities following large-scale cattle raids by members of the two groups, leading to the theft of between 26,000 and 30,000 cattle. Cattle raids are a persistent problem in South Sudan.
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