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
- South Sudan has accused Sudan of bombing the Yida refugee camp in Unity State. At least 12 people are believed dead and 20 wounded. Sudan has denied the accusations and the UN has called for an inquiry. Earlier in the week, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said seven people were killed in a separate bombing raid on the Gaffa refugee camp in Upper Nile. The Satellite Sentinel Project says Sudan is upgrading air bases along the border.
- The South Sudanese army also accused Sudan of being behind a raid on a South Sudanese army camp that left 18 dead.
- Oxfam has withdrawn its staff from the border region following the escalation in violence.
- The rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan have allied with leading three Darfur rebel groups, SLM-Minnawi, SLM-Nur and the Justice and Equality Movement, to form the Sudanese Revolutionary Front. The rebel alliance seeks to overthrow the government of Omar al-Bashir. Sudan has accused South Sudan of sponsoring the meetings of the new group.
- Oil production in South Sudan has fallen by a quarter since independence.
News in detail
North-South relations
AFP: S. Sudan's Kiir blames Khartoum for violence 10 Nov: South Sudan President Salva Kiir accused Khartoum on Wednesday of killing seven people in bomb attacks in Upper Nile state, a key oil producing region that borders Sudan's war-torn South Kordofan. Read more
BBC: Sudan 'bombs refugees' in South Sudan's Unity state 11 Nov: South Sudanese officials have condemned Sudan after an aerial bombardment of a refugee camp in their territory. Read more
BBC: South Sudan Unity State bombing: UN calls for inquiry 11 Nov: UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has called for an investigation into the bombing of a refugee camp in South Sudan, which became independent in July. Read more
Reuters: Sudan ‘upgrading air bases’ in volatile border region – monitoring group 11 Nov: Sudan's military is repairing and improving air bases in its Blue Nile state, potentially helping it step up air strikes in the conflict-stricken region along the border with South Sudan, a satellite monitoring group said on Friday. Read more
AFP: SPLA says 18 dead in Sudan raid, UN seeks to calm tension 12 Nov: A cross-border attack by Sudanese troops on a military base killed 18 fighters, South Sudan's army charged Friday, as the UN Security Council sought ways to end spiraling violence between the two states. Read more
Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan
Sudan Tribune: Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting new rebel alliance 12 Nov: The Sudanese intelligence service on Saturday accused South Sudan of sponsoring the meetings of a new rebel alliance, saying this support represents ’a clear declaration of hostility’ against Khartoum. Read more
Al Jazeera: Sudan rebels form alliance to oust president 13 Nov: Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region and in the troubled border states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan have formed an alliance to overthrow the government of President Omar al-Bashir, a statement released by the rebels said. Read more
AFP: Darfur group joins Sudan rebel alliance 13 Nov: An alliance of rebel groups committed to regime change in Sudan said on Saturday that a key Darfur rebel movement had joined them, as they convened for a second meeting in the Nuba Mountains. Read more
South Sudan
BBC: South Sudan's oil production slumps since independence 9 Nov: Oil production in one of South Sudan's states has fallen by a quarter since independence four months ago, a Unity state minister has told the BBC. Read more
BBC: Oxfam withdraws staff from South Sudan border region 12 Nov: British aid agency Oxfam is withdrawing its staff from a volatile border region of South Sudan in response to increasing instability. Read more
