Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel@insightonconflict.org or complete the form below.

News roundup

  • Sudan accused South Sudan of backing a rebel attack in South Kordofan. The Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels attacked Sudanese goverment forces in Jau, close to the border with South Sudan. Sudan claims the rebels were accompanied by Southern officers.
  • Foreign UN staff have been allowed to return to South Kordofan. Sudan had previously expelled foreign staff from the region.
  • There has been fighting in Darfur between the rebel Sudan Liberation Army and government forces. JEM released 49 African peacekeepers.

News in detail

North-South relations

Reuters: Clashes break out in Sudan's South Kordofan 26 Feb: South Sudanese and Sudanese forces clashed in a poorly-defined border area on Sunday, the Sudanese military said, the latest outbreak of violence to put a recently signed non-aggression pact into question. Read more

AFP: Khartoum accuses South Sudan in rebel attack 26 Feb: Khartoum threatened retaliation on Sunday after accusing breakaway South Sudan of backing a rebel attack inside its territory, adding to tensions which have sparked international concern. Read more

South Kordofan, Blue Nile, Abyei

AFP: UN foreign staff return to Sudan war zone 25 Feb: United Nations international staff have returned to Sudan's South Kordofan for the first time in months, the UN said on Saturday, as global concern mounts over food shortages in the war-torn state. Read more

Washington Post: Attacks increase on Sudan-South Sudan border in order to shut down road, rebel group says 20 Feb: Sudan’s military is carrying out a bombing campaign intended to shut down the main route for refugees fleeing violence in the country’s south, a rebel spokesman said Monday. Read more

Darfur

BBC: Sudan's JEM Darfur rebels 'release Unamid peacekeepers' 21 Feb: Rebels in Sudan's Darfur province say they have released 49 African peacekeepers who they accused of entering their territory without permission. Read more

AFP: Fresh fighting in Darfur 24 Feb: Fresh fighting in Sudan's Darfur region has killed 12 government soldiers, according to a rebel statement received on Friday, but an official said 10 civilians were the victims. Read more

Reuters: Rebels free last peacekeepers held in Sudan's Darfur 22 Feb: Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region released three civilians working for an international peacekeeping force who it had accused of collaborating with Sudan's security services, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday. Read more

South Sudan

Reuters: South Sudan expels head of Chinese-Malaysian oil firm 21 Feb: South Sudan has expelled the head of Chinese-Malaysian oil consortium Petrodar, the main oil firm operating in the new African nation, a top southern official said on Tuesday, escalating a row between Juba and Chinese oil firms. Read more

Sudan

AFP: Sudan papers say reports on 'spy' claims blocked 20 Feb: Sudanese intelligence agents have blocked the publication of articles alleging they bugged the offices of a leading opposition politician, editors said on Monday. Read more