10 reported killed in bombing raid

A Sudanese government plane bombed two rebel-held towns on Monday in Bahr el-Ghazal, southern Sudan, killing and injuring civilians, according to the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). A Russian-made Antonov plane dropped more than 20 bombs on Tonj, killing 10 and wounding scores of people, SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje told IRIN. A school and market place were hit in repeated raids by the plane, which then flew on to Mapel, also in Bahr el-Ghazal, he said. Humanitarian sources confirmed to IRIN that 18 bombs were dropped on Mapel, narrowly missing a stationary Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) plane and reportedly hitting a disused feeding centre. The “seriousness” of the bombings was being looked at in the context of an ongoing government bombing campaign of humanitarian and civilian targets, the source said.

Senior UN officials have condemned a pattern the bombings in Bahr el-Ghazal over the last three weeks. NGOs from the humanitarian OLS consortium said in a statement on Monday that there were at least 33 separate bombing incidents in July. But SPLA spokesman Kwaje expressed anger that the international humanitarian community had not taken more of a stand against the bombing campaign in Bahr el-Ghazal. “All this bombing has been going on and nothing serious is being said or done by the UN,” he told IRIN.