The Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N) has shelled the outskirts of South Kordofan state capital Kadugli using several rockets, eyewitnesses told Radio Tamazuj.
The shelling was reportedly proceded by an attack on a military outpost at Jebel Laku where the guard was captured and a rebel flag hoisted.
The SPLA-N is battling the Khartoum government in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
The bombing near Kadugli resulted in the killing of an elderly woman at Hai Sama and wounding of two others. Some shells burned down several houses.
The incident caused fear among local residents. They pointed out that some families fled the town due to the military build-up that was seen since last week.
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) spokesperson Col. Al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad confirmed the shelling. He said that the shelling targeted the edge of the town, but downplayed the significance of the attack.
Sa’ad told Radio Tamazuj that the SPLM-N carried out an attack Monday morning on Balinja area, but were repulsed.
He stressed that SAF are able to end the rebellion. When asked about the ongoing peace talks with the SPLA-North, Khalid said their first option is to fight as there was no any order stopping the ongoing war.
Rebels deny
Meanwhile, SPLA-N rebel spokesperson Arnu Ngutulu Lodi denied any knowledge about the attack and shelling on Kadugli town.
But Yasser Arman, Secretary General of the SPLA-N and chief negotiator at the peace talks with the government said over the last two days that aerial bombardments were being carried out by the government airplanes on the Two Areas while negotiations continue in Addis Ababa.
A source close to the peace talks indicated that the African Union mediation presented a document to the negotiators on the stalled peace talks.
The two delegations held a lengthy meeting until yesterday afternoon, but there was no statement released after the meeting.
A similar meeting was expected to resume yesterday evening, according to the same source. The African Union mediation had set 8 December as the final day for the peace talks on the Two Areas.