Rebel town bombed by government planes, NPA says

Sudanese government aircraft bombed rebel-held Yei yesterday afternoon and again during the night, the NGO Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) said today. An NPA spokesman told IRIN one civilian was killed and six others injured in the afternoon raid, in which 24 bombs were dropped over a one-hour period. No casualties were reported from the 12 bombs dropped during the second 20-minute raid, which started at 12:30 a.m. today, he said. NPA said the town had been bombed 11 times since March 1998. The spokesman said it was the first time two bombing raids had taken place in one day and only the second time Yei had been bombed at night over the past year. “Night-time bombings are more frightening because people are in their houses and have difficulty seeing their way to the bunkers,” he said.