* South Sudan says attacks defy UN, AU peace efforts
* Accuses Khartoum of trying to prevent talks
* No comment from Sudan
JUBA, May 22 (Reuters) – South Sudan said Sudan attacked it
with aerial bombing raids and ground artillery on Monday and
Tuesday, accusing Khartoum of trying to sabotage international
peace initiatives.
Juba said its armed forces could retaliate if Sudan made
further assaults, raising the prospect of a return to the
fighting which the United Nations and the African Union are
seeking to prevent.
The two armies fought in border skirmishes last month after
disputes over oil exports and border demarcation boiled over,
following South Sudan’s birth as an independent nation in July.
The attacks on Monday and Tuesday targeted the area of
Werguet, some 30 km (19 miles) inside South Sudan’s territory in
Northern Bahr Al Ghazal state, officials told a news conference.
Sudan’s army spokesman, al-Sawarmi Khalid, could not be
reached on his mobile phone. There was no immediate independent
confirmation of South Sudan’s allegations, and limited access to
remote border areas makes such verification difficult.
South Sudanese Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin
said Sudan’s “acts of aggression” violated a May 2 resolution by
the U.N. Security Council which ordered both sides to cease
hostilities and settle their differences through negotiations or
face sanctions.
Juba has accused Sudan of other attacks since May 2.
“This is a slap in the face of the United Nations and the
African Union,” Benjamin said. He noted that the attacks
happened as an AU mediator, former South African President Thabo
Mbeki, was trying to restart direct talks between the two
feuding neighbours.
South Sudan said it remained committed to the peace process
but would defend itself if attacked.
“Should we be forced to respond, we should not be blamed,”
Benjamin said.
Mbeki, who held talks in Juba on Monday with South Sudanese
leaders, had said he believed a date to re-start talks between
the two sides could be agreed this week.
Sudan has said it wants a lasting peace with its southern
neighbour but insists security issues should be resolved first,
specifically that South Sudan should end support for rebels in
Sudan’s borderlands.
The South Sudanese government denies providing support to
the insurgents.
(Reporting By Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
