South Sudan accuses the North of fresh attacks as border row rages

Sudan forces continued with deadly aerial bombardments in South Sudan on Friday despite a temporary ceasefire among the ground forces, officials said.

Two MIG planes Friday attacked a civilian village seven kilometres from Bentiu town, the capital of oil-rich Unity, the state’s Information Minister Gideon Gatpan Thoar said.

“We are yet to specify the casualties but of course there are casualties,” Mr Gatpan said.

“If they don’t stop the bombing we will continue with our ground forces in Heglig,” he said.

In Heglig, which is under control of South Sudan troops, no clashes were reported.

The fresh air attacks came in the wake of an appeal by the international outcry, urging both sides to end the hostilities.

The UN has asked South Sudan to withdraw from Heglig and Sudan to end aerial raids in the South.

South Sudan army spokesman, Col Philip Aguer Panyang, confirmed the escalation in air raids.

“They were targeting a bridge near Rubkona and the bombing is continuous,” Col Aguer said.

“They did not bomb our position today in Heglig …the SPLA forces are beyond Heglig,” he added.

Sudan has been angered by the occupation of Heglig by the South Sudanese army since Tuesday and called for unconditional withdrawal of the troops.

Exert pressure

In a statement carried by the Sudan official news agency, the Foreign Ministry urged the international community “to continue putting pressure on the aggressors and invaders and adopt all the necessary measures to enforce South Sudan to abide by the International Law and to respect the will of the international institutions.”

The Sudan News Agency also quoted President Bashir saying that his army “will repulse any aggression against the Sudan and hailed the steadfastness of the Armed Forces and their determination to defend the Sudanese soil, unity and gains.”

South Sudanese troops on Friday were still in control of the area and vowed to stay put.

“Let them come, we will meet in the middle,” Chief of General Staff James Hoth Mai told a local newspaper.

However, the Juba government said it was ready for dialogue to resolve the outstanding issues, including border demarcation, the status of the disputed Abyei region and oil transit fees.

Relations between the two countries have been marred by violence along the poorly defined borders since the independence of South Sudan in July.

At the same time, the Sudan government has said that the country had enough oil supplies to cover its needs for months to come.

Oil fields

The government noted that there were functioning oil fields in Sudan, other than South Sudan-controlled Heglig.

The statement comes after residents of Khartoum complained after waiting in long queues to refuel.

Khartoum faced a transportation crisis as less buses were available in the last two days.

The Ministry of Petroleum said that the country had 10,000 tonnes of gasoline in storage and was prepared for any eventualities.