The Sudanese army and SPLA-N exchanged fire in the Kadugli area, capital of South Kordofan State, on Wednesday and again on Thursday ahead of a key football match in the town.

There were conflicting reports on the number of attacks, with witnesses saying that army artillery fired on SPLA positions yesterday while others said SPLA-N resumed shelling into the town of Kadugli.

Radio Omdurman, the Sudanese national radio service, reported that the SPLA-N shelled Kadugli with Katyusha rockets on Wednesday afternoon.

On the following day a witness speaking to Radio Tamazuj from Kadugli said that the Sudan Armed Forces launched five rockets toward SPLA-held territory east of Kadugli, ahead of a football match between the Hilal Sudani and Hilal Kadugli teams.

Witnesses also said SPLA resumed bombardment of the city yesterday, launching three rockets in the morning and three more at mid-day. It was not yet clear whether there were any casualties from the shelling.

They said this caused panic among the public, with some shop owners closing doors and school children fleeing to their homes.

Heavy presence of security forces including Central Reserve Police was seen throughout the town, especially in the area near the stadium where the two professional football teams were scheduled to play an afternoon match.

Hilal won the match 3-0, with one goal from Abdellatif Bowi, a second from the player nicknamed ‘Bisha’, and a third as an own goal by one of the Hilal Kadugli defenders.

File photo: Hilal Sudan, in blue, is one of the country’s most popular teams.