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AFRICA NEWS
Sudanese air strike hits S Sudan, breaking pact: army
by Staff Writers
Juba (AFP) Feb 14, 2012


Sudanese warplanes dropped several bombs wounding four soldiers in a contested area claimed by South Sudan, breaking a fresh non-aggression pact between the two sides, Juba's army spokesman said Tuesday.

"Sudanese Armed Forces airplanes bombed the Jau area in Unity state on Sunday, wounding four of our soldiers," South Sudanese army spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP.

South Sudan -- which declared independence from former civil war enemies in north Sudan in July -- has accused Khartoum of carrying out several bombing raids in frontier regions of its territory, claims denied by the northern army.

The bombings took place in oil-rich areas along the disputed border with the rump state of Sudan, which both sides claim as theirs. The Jau area has seen several bombings in recent months as well as fighting between the two sides.

"There were several bombs launched from Antonov aircraft," Aguer said.

The region borders Sudan's Southern Kordofan state where rebels -- once part of the ex-guerrilla turned official South Sudanese army -- are battling the Khartoum government forces.

Sudan and South Sudan signed a non-aggression pact late Friday over the disputed border in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, a move praised by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

However, Aguer said the latest bombings showed the deal had not been taken seriously by Khartoum.

"Nothing has changed, it is business as usual for them," Aguer said.

Gideon Gatpan, minister of information for Unity state, confirmed there had been "several bombings" on Sunday in the Jau area.

According to the pact, the two sides agreed to "respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and to "refrain from launching any attack, including bombardment."

Border tensions have mounted since South Sudan split from Sudan in July, becoming the world's newest nation.

South Sudan took three quarters of Sudan's oil when it gained independence, but all pipeline and export facilities are controlled by the north.

Last month, the South halted oil production -- accounting for 98 percent of government revenue -- after Juba accused Khartoum of stealing $815 million worth of crude oil.

The latest round of talks between Khartoum and Juba continue in Addis Ababa to resolve the furious oil crisis.

The UN chief last week warned that tensions between the two nations could escalate if outstanding issues are not resolved.

However, the South has demanded that a deal includes settlement on the undemarcated border, parts of which cut through oil fields, as well on Abyei, a Lebanon-sized region claimed by both sides but occupied by northern troops.

At least 105,000 Sudanese refugees have fled into South Sudan since fighting erupted in the states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile last year, after Khartoum moved to assert its authority in the wake of southern secession.

The refugees are adding to the woes of the grossly impoverished South, which is reeling from internal crises including a wave of bloody ethnic violence, rebel attacks and severe food shortages.

In addition, Juba is struggling to support over 364,000 people who have returned to their homeland since October 2010 from the north, where they fled during the war.

An estimated 700,000 ethnic southerners remain in north Sudan, where aid officials are increasingly concerned for their future, with an April 8 deadline approaching for them to either register or leave Sudan.

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Three soldiers killed in Senegal's restive south: military
Ziguinchor, Senegal (AFP) Feb 14, 2012 - Senegalese troops clashed with suspected separatist rebels in the troubled Casamance region, leaving three soldiers dead and six wounded, military and hospital sources said Tuesday.

"Yesterday (Monday) at dusk... we clashed with Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC) rebels, we counted three dead and six injured," a military source said.

He said the clashes took place in Sindian, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the regional capital Ziguinchor, as troops were providing security for people and their property against "armed groups who terrorise them".

A nurse at a hospital in Ziguinchor confirmed that three bodies, and six wounded, had been taken in.

The Casamance is separated from the rest of Senegal by Gambia and is the theatre of west Africa's longest running conflict with the MFDC fighting for independence since 1982.

The MFDC has been fighting for independence since 1982 in West Africa's longest running conflict.

The conflict, which has seen periods of quiet and surges of violence, has not reached the levels of bloodshed of other wars in the region but has nonetheless claimed thousands of lives over the past three decades.

Several peace accords have failed, the MFDC is reportedly riven with divisions and rebels are often implicated in large-scale hijackings and the terrorising of villagers.

Violence soared over November and December with 23 people, including 10 civilians, killed in fighting.

President Abdoulaye Wade, who promised upon his election in 2000 to solve the crisis in 100 days, visited the region which has remained a thorn in the side of his regime last weekend as he campaigned for a third term in February 26 polls.

He proposed a plan which involved disarmament, demining, and five major agricultural projects.



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AFRICA NEWS
Nigeria army kills 12 suspected Islamists in flashpoint city
Kano, Nigeria (AFP) Feb 13, 2012
Nigeria's army has killed 12 suspected fighters from the Boko Haram Islamists during a raid in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the group's base, a military spokesman told AFP on Monday. Spokesman Hassan Mohammed of the Joint Task Force said there was a shootout in the city late Sunday between soldiers and "gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram... in the encounter 12 members of Bo ... read more


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