Boy dies as attack on market brings Sudan war ever closer

Sudanese warplanes bombed a town in South Sudan yesterday, killing a boy and wounding at least 10 people when a market was targeted.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Apr 2012, 07:00 BST

Officials said South Sudanese troops fired back as the threat of full-scale war between the two nations grew.

The bombs reduced market stalls to twisted metal, setting some ablaze. South Sudanese soldiers shot at the aircraft.

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“The bombing amounts to a declaration of war,” said Major General Mac Paul, the Deputy Director of Military Intelligence for South Sudan.

Sudanese armed forces launched an attack on Sunday more than six miles inside South Sudan’s border. Last week the south announced it was pulling its troops from the disputed oil town of Heglig to avoid an all-out war between the two neighbours, but tensions remained high. South Sudan had invaded Heglig earlier this month, saying it belonged to the south.

Mac Paul said two MiG 29 jets belonging to Sudan dropped three bombs yesterday, two of which landed near a bridge that connects Bentiu, the capital of Unity State and the town of Rubkona.

South Sudan broke away from Sudan last July after an independence vote.