Bombings intensified in the south

During July, the government’s apparently indiscriminate bombing campaign in southern Sudan seemed to have resumed its previous intensity, according to humanitarian sources. Khartoum announced on 24 May that it was “halting air strikes against the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in southern Sudan and the Nubah Mountains” but reversed its decision in early June in the wake of an SPLA offensive, which saw it gaining ground - including the town of Raga - from government forces. The government then said it had taken the decision to “defend itself in the face of continued aggression” from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). There were at least 13 aerial attacks by government forces that endangered civilians in southern Sudan during the month of July, humanitarian sources stated. Five of the attacks occurred in Equatoria (in Ngaluma, Ikotos, Magwe, Kayala and Parajok) while four occurred in Bahr al-Ghazal (on Raga, Malualkon [Malwal Kon] - twice, and Mangar Angui) where fighting has intensified since an offensive by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in late May/early June, they said. There were also four attacks in Upper Nile (Juaibor, Thokchak, Padit and Maiwut) during July, they added. Each side has accused the other of targeting civilians displaced by fighting in Western Bahr al-Ghazal since late May. In all, there were almost 100 air strikes in the first six months of the year, with attacks on Bahr al-Ghazal, in particular, intensifying in late May and through June, humanitarian sources told IRIN. There have also been reports of an increased number of areas to which humanitarian agencies are denied flight access, thus limiting their chances of assisting vulnerable populations.