Sudanese army occupies town inside South Sudan: official ArticleComments (1). Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Bonifacio Taban Kuich December 4, 2011 (BENTIU) – The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) briefly took control over the South Sudanese town of Jaw over the weekend, a local official told Sudan Tribune. FILE - A Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) soldier stands at attention during an Independence Day rehearsal in Juba July 5, 2011 (Reuters)The attack was believed to be part of the efforts by SAF to pursue rebels from the Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) that it believes are hiding in Jaw. Jaw lies on the borders between Sudan and the newly established state of South Sudan. According to the area Commissioner Mabeak Lang Bilkuey, SAF captured the Jaw Payam on Saturday around 6:30pm. The official said the attack took the forces of the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) in Jaw Payam of Unity State by surprise. Bilkuey confirmed to Sudan Tribune on Sunday that their forces are now in control of parts of Jaw after heavy battles with SAF on Saturday evening and Sunday. He disclosed that SAF forces were advancing towards the Yida refugees’ camp in Parieng on Saturday. “One of the reasons why they are fighting the Jaw Payam was because they want to take over the areas which are under [control] of South Sudan and [housing] the Sudanese refugees from the north. They are attacking Jaw because they believe it is the base of SPLM/A north hideout that they use to fight them in the South Kordofan State”, said Bilkuey. Sudan’s army has been battling SPLM-N rebels in South Kordofan state since early June. The conflict later extended to include Blue Nile State which also borders South Sudan. Last month, South Sudan accused SAF forces of conducting air strikes on a refugee camp in Unity state. South Kordofan and Blue Nile lie on Sudan’s borders with South Sudan. The two states are home to communities that largely fought alongside southerners in the civil war that ended in 2005 with a peace deal that paved the way for the south’s independence in July this year. Today the SPLM-N issued a statement claiming that the SAF has started a new campaign on four fronts in South Kordofan but that the rebels managed to destroy all its columns. The communiqué said that SAF aerial bombardments caused massive displacement of civilians at a time when food levels are low. The SPLM-N called for delivering humanitarian assistance to the displaced population, protect civilians and investigate war crimes in South Kordofan. They accused the South Kordofan governor Ahmed Haroun of carrying out a scorched earth policy similar to the one he pursued in Sudan’s western region of Darfur. Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes he allegedly committed in Darfur. In a related issue an aid worker told Sudan Tribune that on Sunday two long range missiles hit Kauda in South Kordofan wounding four civilians. He said that the source of the missiles appears to be Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan which is 92 kilometers from Kauda. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
