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Sudan war planes bomb South Sudan: South minister
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] South Sudan said Tuesday Sudanese war planes have launched air strikes against its territory, the latest in a series of attacks that threaten to scupper international efforts to restart peace talks."South Sudan views the current aerial bombardment... as a serious threat to both regional and international peace and security," South Sudan's Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told news hounds. The former civil war foes fought heavily in contested border regions last month, the worst fighting since the South won independence last July and sparking international concerns of a return to all-out war. The bombings Monday and Tuesday targeted the Waragat area of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, a border region close to Sudan's war-torn South Darfur state, Benjamin said. "South Sudan is watching this crisis very closely... we will be forced also to react to these acts of aggression," he added, without giving further details. The air strikes could not be independently confirmed, and Sudan's army repeatedly denied Southern claims of air strikes during weeks of bitter border conflict. The last air strike reported by the South was on May 9. Both sides say they are committed to peace but missed a United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Security Council demand that they resume the talks by last Wednesday. The South has said it is ready to talk and accused Khartoum of stalling. The African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... is working hard to resume talks between the foes, with its chief mediator, former South African president Thabo Mbeki ...former president of South Africa, succeeding Nelson Mandela. He now pops up periodically as a mediator when something catches fire in Africa... , embarking on rounds of shuttle diplomacy between the two capitals. Posted by: Fred 2012-05-23 |
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