UN Says Sudan Dropped Bombs Near Refugee Camp

Posted November 11th, 2011 at 2:25 pm (UTC-5)
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A United Nations official has said Sudan is responsible for Thursday's bombing near a refugee camp in neighboring South Sudan.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said Friday that confirmation of Sudan's involvement in the attack comes from the U.N. Mission in South Sudan.

Ladsous said the Sudan Armed Forces dropped at least two bombs near the Yida refugee camp, which is home to about 10,000 people displaced by fighting across the border in Sudan's Southern Kordofan state.

Sudan has denied bombing South Sudan's territory.

A local official reported that 12 people were killed in the raid, but Ladsous said casualties are still unknown.

He noted that the camp is near a base of the SPLA, the army that battled the SAF during Sudan's north-south civil war.

The bombing has prompted condemnation from the United States and the U.N. refugee agency. Friday, U.N. human rights commissioner Navi Pillay called for an investigation into the attack.

Meanwhile, a watchdog group says Sudan is expanding its capacity to conduct air strikes along the border with South Sudan.

The Satellite Sentinel Project says images from space show Sudan upgrading airbases it recently captured from rebels in Blue Nile state. It says the upgrades include newly-improved airstrips and new helicopter pads.

Sudan and South Sudan have been almost constantly at odds since the south became independent in July.

On Thursday, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir denied accusations that his country backs rebels fighting Sudan's government in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan.

Mr. Kiir also accused Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of planning to invade and retake South Sudan.

Sudan has recognized the south's independence but the sides have yet to resolve issues over borders — especially in the oil-rich Abyei region — and the sharing of oil revenue. The south took over most of Sudan's oil, but but pipelines to the sea run through the north.