Khartoum steps up bombing as South leader visits China

JUBA, Tuesday

Despite the escalating aerial bombardment deep into her territories, South Sudan on Tuesday called for resumption of talks with Sudan to resolve the outstanding issues that include demarcation of the fragile borders, status of Abyei and security.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, South Sudan’s leader accused Sudan of declaring war on Tuesday as Khartoum’s warplanes bombed border regions in defiance of international calls for restraint.

Salva Kiir, on a visit to Beijing where he met President Hu Jintao, said his “neighbour in Khartoum has declared war on the Republic of South Sudan.”

Last week, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir threatened to crush the “insect” government of the South, and said the time for talks was over.

Beijing — a key ally of Khartoum but also the main buyer of the South’s oil -- has repeatedly called for an end to weeks of border fighting, which saw the South seize and hold the key Heglig oil field from Sudanese troops for 10 days.

In Juba, Information minister Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin told reporters: “We are committed to peace and we have never left the peace table and these issues can not be resolved militarily.”

“We call for immediate demarcation of agreed borders,” Dr Marial said. The call comes in the wake of continued aerial bombing by the Sudan Armed Forces in the oil-rich Unity state.

South Sudan army spokesman Col Philip Aguer said a series of bombings that started on Monday, leading to death of at least two and several other injured, extended into the night till this morning. “At 11 and at 1 o’clock, they bombed us,” Col Aguer said.

“Two antonovs came across the borders to a distance of 40 km. They bombed villages called Panakuach and Teshwin,” Col Aguer said.

The SAF denies bombing civilian bases, saying the bombs landed 20 km away from the border – a claim the southern army has refuted.

Rubkona County, which was the scene of fire when the SAF bombed the area on Monday, is 60 km away from the borders inside South Sudan.

The UN has condemned the continued bombing and called for immediate cessation of hostilities.

“The secretary General reiterates that there can be no military solution to the disputes between Sudan and South Sudan,” reads a statement attributed to the UN Secretary Genera Ban Ki-Moon.

“This indiscriminate bombings resulting in the loss of civilian lives must stop,” said Hilde Johnson, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary for South Sudan.

“I remind the parties to the conflict of their obligation to abide by the international human rights and humanitarian law, take all measures not to harm civilians, and guarantee the safety of international aid organizations and United Nations personnel and assets,” Ms Hilde said.

Several people were wounded in multiple air strikes on the villages in the South’s oil-rich border regions overnight, reaching around 25 kilometres from the front line between the rival armies.

Despite the South’s withdrawal from Heglig at the weekend, both armies are reportedly reinforcing troop numbers and digging into trenches along their contested border.

Overnight Monday, bomber aircraft hit border villages in the South’s Unity state following earlier air strikes on the state capital Bentiu, governor Taban Deng said.

In Beijing, Kiir was pleading his case to Chinese authorities, but analysts said Beijing was unlikely to take sides and would keep pushing for dialogue.

Border tensions are high, although Deng said that at present “with the exception of aerial bombardment, the front line is quiet.”

However, Mac Paul, the South’s deputy director of military intelligence, warned he had “information from our sources the Sudanese army is mobilising for a push on Bentiu,” claims that could not be confirmed.