JUBA, South Sudan — A battle between South Sudan soldiers and rebels allegedly backed by neighboring Sudan killed 163 people, most of them rebels, government officials said Thursday.
South Sudan’s military spokesman, Colonel Philip Aguer, said government forces also captured an airstrip in the town of Okello, which he claimed the rebels have been using to import most of their military supplies. Okello is in South Sudan’s southeast Pibor County, where rebel leader David Yau Yau hails from.
‘‘This airstrip has been used” by Sudan “intelligence to transport and supply arms and ammunition to David Yau Yau. Some of the arms that were being dropped by Antanovs were captured, AK-47s. Some are broken, some are in good condition,’’ Aguer said.
He said 143 rebels led by Yau Yau died in the battle Tuesday, and that 20 soldiers were killed and 70 wounded.
South Sudan peacefully broke away from Sudan in 2011 but is still dealing with violence inside its borders. Military battles and fights between tribes kill dozens of people with alarming frequency. After decades of war with Sudan, the country is flooded with assault rifles.
Death tolls are almost impossible to verify without months of investigations, given how remote the country is and the complete lack of infrastructure. In late December 2011 and early January 2012, cattle raid attacks between tribes killed at least 600 people in Jonglei. A disarmament campaign afterward collected more than 10,000 weapons.
Aguer said South Sudan’s military will continue to ‘‘deal with the militia group’’ and that it would be a matter of time before Yau Yau’s rebels are cleared from Pibor County.
South Sudan accuses Sudan of arming the rebellion to block South Sudan’s plans to build an oil pipeline eastward through Ethiopia to a port in Djibouti.
That's why the vote was set up to separate Sudan. You didn't think it was altruism, did you?
A dispute with Sudan over oil transit fees led South Sudan to shut down its oil industry last year and look for alternative ways to transport its crude. The two governments recently reached an agreement that is supposed to restart South Sudanese exports through Sudan’s oil pipelines.
Sudan has repeatedly denied having any ties to the rebels. It accuses South Sudan, in turn, of supporting rebels in Sudan’s South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
Yau Yau first rebelled against South Sudan after he failed to win a parliamentary seat in the 2010 general elections. He accused the ruling party of rigging the vote. In 2011 he accepted an amnesty offer and was promoted to a general. But last year he fled to Sudan and started a rebellion in Pibor against South Sudan’s government.
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"5 UN troops, 7 others killed in South Sudan" by Charlton Doki and Nirmala George | Associated Press, April 10, 2013
JUBA, South Sudan — Armed rebels that South Sudan believes are backed by Sudan opened fire on a United Nations convoy on Tuesday, killing five UN peacekeepers from India and at least seven civilians, officials said.
Hilde Johnson, the top UN envoy in South Sudan, said in a statement that at least nine additional peacekeepers and civilians were injured and some remain unaccounted for.
South Sudan’s military spokesman, Colonel Philip Aguer, blamed the attack on fighters led by David Yau Yau, a rebel leader that South Sudan’s military has battled.
Aguer said the attack took place on a convoy traveling between the South Sudanese towns of Pibor and Bor.
‘‘Definitely this attack was carried out by David Yau Yau’s militia,’’ Aguer said. ‘‘They have been launching ambushes even on the SPLA for about six months now,’’ he said, using the acronym for South Sudan’s military.
Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping department, said: ‘‘This was clearly a deliberate, targeted attack against a United Nations convoy by about 200 armed men.’’
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Also see: Sunday Globe Special: South Sudan Scene
"Sudan sheltering Kony, group says" April 27, 2013
KAMPALA, Uganda — Fugitive African warlord Joseph Kony recently found haven in territory controlled by Sudan, a watchdog group said Friday, accusing the Sudanese military of offering aid to commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army.
US-based Resolve said in a report that Kony recently directed killings from an enclave protected by the Sudanese military. Until this year, according to the report, Kony and some commanders were operating in Kafia Kingi, a disputed area along the Sudan-South Sudan border where African Union troops do not have access.
“The enclave is currently controlled by Sudan, and numerous eyewitness reports indicate that elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces in Kafia Kingi have actively sheltered senior LRA commanders there and provided them with limited material support,” the report said. “Kony himself first traveled to the Kafia Kingi enclave in 2010. He returned to Kafia Kingi in 2011 and was present there throughout parts of 2012.”
Kony “continued to direct LRA attacks against civilians in neighboring countries and issue new orders.”
The Ugandan military — with support from US military advisers — is the driving force behind the hunt for Kony.
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Related: The Kony Kon
"Security adviser for Reagan searched for ties to Sudan
WASHINGTON — The FBI has searched the apartment of former Reagan administration national security adviser Robert McFarlane for evidence of whether he lobbied on behalf of the government of Sudan in violation of federal law.
He of Iran-Contra fame.
A search warrant shows agents seized items this month including handwritten notes about Sudan and White House documents with classification markings up to Top Secret.
It is against the law for Americans to do business with Sudan because of its alleged support for terrorism and human rights violations, among other things. Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, is charged with genocide and other crimes.
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"5 UN troops, 7 others killed in South Sudan" by Charlton Doki and Nirmala George | Associated Press, April 10, 2013
JUBA, South Sudan — Armed rebels that South Sudan believes are backed by Sudan opened fire on a United Nations convoy on Tuesday, killing five UN peacekeepers from India and at least seven civilians, officials said.
Hilde Johnson, the top UN envoy in South Sudan, said in a statement that at least nine additional peacekeepers and civilians were injured and some remain unaccounted for.
South Sudan’s military spokesman, Colonel Philip Aguer, blamed the attack on fighters led by David Yau Yau, a rebel leader that South Sudan’s military has battled.
Aguer said the attack took place on a convoy traveling between the South Sudanese towns of Pibor and Bor.
‘‘Definitely this attack was carried out by David Yau Yau’s militia,’’ Aguer said. ‘‘They have been launching ambushes even on the SPLA for about six months now,’’ he said, using the acronym for South Sudan’s military.
Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping department, said: ‘‘This was clearly a deliberate, targeted attack against a United Nations convoy by about 200 armed men.’’
--more--"
Also see: Sunday Globe Special: South Sudan Scene
"Sudan sheltering Kony, group says" April 27, 2013
KAMPALA, Uganda — Fugitive African warlord Joseph Kony recently found haven in territory controlled by Sudan, a watchdog group said Friday, accusing the Sudanese military of offering aid to commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army.
US-based Resolve said in a report that Kony recently directed killings from an enclave protected by the Sudanese military. Until this year, according to the report, Kony and some commanders were operating in Kafia Kingi, a disputed area along the Sudan-South Sudan border where African Union troops do not have access.
“The enclave is currently controlled by Sudan, and numerous eyewitness reports indicate that elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces in Kafia Kingi have actively sheltered senior LRA commanders there and provided them with limited material support,” the report said. “Kony himself first traveled to the Kafia Kingi enclave in 2010. He returned to Kafia Kingi in 2011 and was present there throughout parts of 2012.”
Kony “continued to direct LRA attacks against civilians in neighboring countries and issue new orders.”
The Ugandan military — with support from US military advisers — is the driving force behind the hunt for Kony.
--more--"
Related: The Kony Kon
"Security adviser for Reagan searched for ties to Sudan
WASHINGTON — The FBI has searched the apartment of former Reagan administration national security adviser Robert McFarlane for evidence of whether he lobbied on behalf of the government of Sudan in violation of federal law.
He of Iran-Contra fame.
A search warrant shows agents seized items this month including handwritten notes about Sudan and White House documents with classification markings up to Top Secret.
It is against the law for Americans to do business with Sudan because of its alleged support for terrorism and human rights violations, among other things. Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, is charged with genocide and other crimes.
--more--"
