North’s planes bomb South
NAIROBI, Kenya — South Sudan’s president said Tuesday that its northern neighbor has “declared war” on the world’s newest nation, just hours after Sudanese jets dropped eight bombs on his country.
The U.N. Mission in South Sudan confirmed that at least 16 civilians in South Sudan were killed and 34 injured in bombings by Sudanese aircraft in Unity State, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters. She said the mission reported that the bombings also caused significant damage to infrastructure.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s comments, made during a trip to China, signal a rise in rhetoric between the rival nations, who spent decades at war with each other. Neither side has officially declared war.
Sudan and South Sudan have been drawing closer to a full-scale war in recent weeks over the unresolved issues of oil revenues and their disputed border. The violence has drawn alarm and condemnation from the international community, including from President Obama.
South Sudan won independence from Sudan last year as part of a 2005 peace treaty that ended decades of war that killed 2 million people.
Sudanese President Omar el-bashir gave a fiery speech last week in which he said there will be no negotiations with the “poisonous insects” who are challenging Sudan’s claim to disputed territory near the border.
Kiir arrived in China late Monday for a fiveday visit to lobby for economic and diplomatic support. China’s energy needs make it deeply vested in the future of the two Sudans. Beijing is uniquely positioned to exert influence in the conflict, given its deep trade ties to the resourcerich south and decadeslong diplomatic ties with Sudan’s government in the north.
South Sudan’s military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said Sudanese Antonov warplanes dropped eight bombs overnight in Panakuac, where he said there was ground fighting on Monday. Aguer said he did not know how many people were killed in the attack because of poor communication links with the remote area.
On Monday, Sudanese warplanes bombed a market and an oil field in South Sudan, killing at least two people, after Sudanese ground forces reportedly crossed into South Sudan with tanks and artillery.