October 31, 2012 (KHARTOUM) — South Kordofan rebels reported that Sudanese warplanes bombed several villages in the Nuba Mountains area on Tuesday, during the whole day.

SPLM-N spokesman Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, said in a statement emailed to Sudan Tribune that four Mig and two Antonov bombarded the villages of Um Sardabah, Karkarrai, Tanguel and Al-Atmoor in the Nuba Mountains.

He pointed out that the aerial bombing, which started at 08.00am and continued till 03.00pm (local time), injured a child, killed nine heads of cattle and destroyed the crops of local residents.

The rebels shelled recently the state capital, Kadugli, arguing their mortar attacks are in retaliation to the aerial bombing regularly carried out by the Sudanese army.

Arnu condemned the raids against unarmed citizens stressing that it aims to “thwart any possibility of self-reliance and to obstruct international efforts to provide humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering experienced by civilians in the region.”

Sudanese government and rebels failed to agree on the modalities allowing to implement a tripartite plan to reach the needy in the rebel held areas.

In a recent report, UN agencies estimated that 520,000 people have been displaced or severely affected by conflict in South Kordofan besides some 205,000 refugees from South Kordofan and Blue Nile who are now in South Sudan and Ethiopia.

(ST)

Article source: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article44382

October 30, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese minister of foreign affairs Ali Karti has refused to link the arrival of Iranian warships in the country to the airstrike that destroyed an arms factory in Khartoum last week.

FILE PHOTO – Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti (GETTY)

Speaking in a press conference in the capital Khartoum on Tuesday, Karti said that the docking of two Iranian warships in the country’s Red Sea port of Port Sudan was not intended to be a secret especially in light of the fact that satellites continuously monitor movements between ports.

He went on to say that the purpose of the visit is to share naval combat experiences between the two countries.

The arrival of Iran’s ‘Shahid Naqdi’ corvette and a freighter in Port Sudan on Monday acquired significance due to the fact that it came just one week after a Sudanese military factory rumored to be linked to Iran was bombed in an airstrike Khartoum accuses Israel of conducting.

The official spokesperson of the Sudanese army (SAF), Al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad, said that the warships that will stay until Thursday present an opportunity for Sudanese naval crops to acquaint themselves with the advanced level of weaponry in Iranian warships.

Karti insisted that Israel is standing behind the attack on Al-Yarmook military factory in the suburbs of Khartoum on Tuesday, 23 October, saying that the Jewish state is using the high technology it acquired from the US in committing “childish and terrorist” acts.

The minister also insisted that the targeted factory was producing normal ammunition and that Tel Aviv realizes that Iran does not need to import weapons from Sudan. According to Karti, the strike only signifies the weakness of the Likud Party of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and its attempts to score political points.

Karti said that Israel aimed through the strike to send a message to the Israelis saying that Netanyahu is the one that protects their security and interests.

Sudan top diplomat said that Israel is now completely isolated and trying to cover up its heinous deed. He said that Sudan already filed a complaint against Israel with the UN Security Council despite their awareness that Israel’s friends will not allow the UNSC to condemn it.

(ST)

Article source: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article44381