Government denies launching offensive in oil region

The Sudanese government on Wednesday denied claims by southern rebels that government forces had killed more than 1,000 people in a major offensive in south Sudan's main oil region.

"This is a figment of someone's imagination. The government has launched no offensive in that area," Muhammad Ahmad Dirdiery, charge d'affaires at the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi told IRIN on Wednesday.

According to news agency reports, the alleged attacks began on Friday 26 July when government forces attacked rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) positions near the village of Tam, some 20km south of Bentiu, the main government town in western Upper Nile (Wahdah State).

Over the weekend, government Antonov bombers and helicopter gunships had been used to continue the offensive, the BBC quoted SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje as saying.

However, according to Dirdiery government- and rebel- allied militias had been involved in "low-level skirmishes" in an attempt to gain territory ahead of a possible ceasefire agreement.

"The situation continues to be fragile without a comprehensive ceasefire," Dirdiery told IRIN.

Humanitarian sources told IRIN there was "every indication" to suggest that large numbers of people were killed in fighting over the weekend, but that the SPLM/A's estimates appeared to be inflated. "It is very unusual for 1,000 people to be reported dead as a consequence of fighting over a single weekend," sources said.

Although the attacks appeared to be targeted against military personnel, rather than against civilians, there were "well-grounded fears" that large numbers of people had been displaced as a result of the fighting, they added.

The reports come at a time when hopes have been raised for a lasting solution to Sudan's 19-year civil war. Sudanese President Umar Hasan al-Bashir and SPLM/A chief John Garang held their first ever face-to-face meeting on Saturday 27 July, during which they endorsed a framework peace deal.

Although the deal - named the Machakos Protocol - includes broad agreement on a number of key issues, such as self-determination for the south and the relations between church and state, arrangements have not yet been made for a comprehensive ceasefire.

Remaining issues, including the need for a comprehensive ceasefire as well as the sharing of the country's oil wealth, will be discussed during the next round of talks, scheduled to begin in mid-August, and held under the auspices of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).