Relations "not under threat"

Bilateral relations between Sudan and Uganda have not been threatened by an incident this week in which Sudanese military planes bombed a Ugandan military detachment in southern Sudan, a Sudanese diplomat has said. Three Ugandan soldiers were injured on Tuesday when Sudanese military planes dropped bombs on their detachment in Palotaka, Uganda's government-owned 'New Vision' newspaper reported. The Sudanese government in March this year permitted Ugandan troops to hunt down the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) which is fighting the Ugandan government from bases in southern Sudan. Southern Sudan also is the scene of Sudan's civil war, involving the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and the government. Ugandan Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi has already protested against Tuesday's incident to his Sudanese counterpart, who "regretted it and blamed it on his pilots having missed their targets", the 'New Vision' reported. Sirajudin Hamid, charge d'affaires at the Sudanese embassy in Uganda, confirmed the incident but said he had not received any official reports. "The issue is why were they [SPLM/A and Ugandan soldiers] at the same place at the same time? The target was the SPLA, not the UPDF [Uganda People's Defence Force]," he told IRIN. "There is no hostility between Sudan and Uganda. Bilateral relations are good." According to Hamid, Sudanese government military operations in southern Sudan have intensified since the capture of Torit - a key southern town - by the SPLM/A and the subsequent collapse of peace talks in Kenya earlier this month. "After the occupation of Torit by the SPLM/A, the whole area is now a military operation area. Obviously things will be a bit difficult. But this is not for me to decide," Hamid said. "The Ugandan defence minister is going to Khartoum to discuss some of the issues touching on the [March] protocol. Maybe they can also discuss ways in which the UPDF can withdraw from places where the Sudan government is running operations," he added.