Sudan resumed its aerial bombardment of South Sudan, violating international calls for a cessation of hostilities between the two countries, a South Sudanese military official said on Wednesday.
Deputy spokesman for the South Sudan military Colonel Kella Dual Kueth said there were attacks on Monday and Tuesday in the states of Upper Nile, Unity and Northern Bahr el Ghazal.
“Automatically it is a violation,” Kueth said. “They always attack in the morning and [in the] evening, as usual.”
Kueth did not say how many bombs were dropped or how many people were killed in attacks launched by Sudanese warplanes. He said he was not aware of any attacks on Wednesday.
Khartoum has repeatedly denied it is carrying out a bombing campaign over its southern neighbor, saying instead that it is the victim of South Sudanese aggression.
The UN Security Council last month approved a resolution threatening non-military sanctions against Sudan and South Sudan if they do not stop escalating violence and return to negotiations.
The African Union (AU) is now trying to help the two Sudans reach a settlement and avoid a return to all-out war. Although Sudan has endorsed the AU road map to peace, it insists on the right to defend itself militarily.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Wednesday for both countries “to disengage and resume post-independence negotiations.”
“It is imperative that both sides stop any and all warfare by proxy, before it becomes too late,” he said.
Ban also urged Sudan and South Sudan to immediately establish a joint body to monitor the disputed border, as required by the UN Security Council, which set a deadline for Wednesday.
He told the UN General Assembly that the government of Sudan must address the “legitimate political and economic aspirations of its people in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, where humanitarian access should be immediately granted and a cessation of hostilities negotiated.”
Kueth said the latest attacks suggest Sudan is not interested in peace talks with South Sudan.
“Maybe they want to decide not to go [for peace talks],” he said. “If they are genuine and really serious [about] making this peace process they could have gone before they attack. How could you attack and then go to a peace talk?”
The most recent fighting started last month after South Sudan’s brief capture of the oil-rich town of Heglig, which is claimed and has since been reoccupied by Sudan.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan last year, but has outstanding issues with the north over the sharing of oil revenue and the border.
Meanwhile, Sudan on Wednesday offered African tribesmen in the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei citizenship in an effort to woo them to the north. Abyei’s fate was left unresolved when South Sudan split from Sudan.
In Khartoum, Sudanese Interior Ministry official Salaheddin Khalifa told the official SUNA news agency the government had decided that members of Abyei’s Dinka Ngok tribe could become northern citizens.
Abyei is home to the African, south-aligned Dinka Ngok tribe but the land is also used by nomadic Arab tribesmen from the north for grazing cattle.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was