Sudan Feud Heats Up After Overnight Bombing
VOA News
April 24, 2012
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir says the actions of neighboring Sudan
amount to a declaration of war.
His remarks Tuesday came during talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in
Beijing. Kiir is in China on a five-day trip that will include opening a
new embassy for South Sudan.
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The U.S., China and other world powers have called on Sudan and South Sudan
to stop fighting and resume peace talks.
Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, said Monday there will be no further
talks and that the south only understands the language of "guns and
ammunition."
South Sudanese officials said Tuesday that Sudanese warplanes dropped bombs
overnight in Panakwach.
On Monday, officials and witnesses in South Sudan said Sudan bombed inside
the South's Unity state, killing at least three people, including one boy.
The bombs struck in and around the border town of Bentiu.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the Sudanese bombings and
called on the government in Khartoum to cease all hostilities immediately.
The United States also condemned what it termed Sudan's "military
incursion." State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S.
recognizes the South's right to self-defense, but urged Juba to "exercise
restraint" in its response to the bombardments.
The deputy head of South Sudan's military intelligence, Mac Paul, accused
Sudan of "continuous provocations" since the south withdrew its forces from
the Heglig region in recent days.
South Sudan says it made an orderly and voluntary pullout from Heglig,
following international pressure to withdraw. Sudan says it retook the area
by force.
The two countries have been unable to resolve disputes over borders, oil and
citizenship stemming from the south's independence last July.
The Sudan and South Sudan previously fought a 21-year civil war that killed
more than two million people. The war ended with a 2005 peace agreement
that included an independence referendum for the South.
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Received on Tue Apr 24 2012 - 10:21:04 EDT
