The armed forces of Khartoum bombed the airport of a town in South Kordofan, considered crucial for the provisioning of food, water and medicine to thousands of people forced to flee the fighting that began this week in the border State between the North and South.
“On Tuesday evening the air strikes destroyed the airstrip of Kauda”, said to MISNA a witness, a volunteer of the Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation and Development Organization (NRRDO) based in the town.
“The bombings of the Antonovs worsened the humanitarian emergency: at least 10,000 people fled into the mountains from Kauda, Hayban and Dallani”, added Riek Rial.
The displaced of this area are only part of the over 60,000 censused by the United Nations throughout South Kordofan. Most of these people left all their belongings behind and live out in the open without food or water.
Reports also indicate summary killings of youths suspected of backing the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army), former rebels during the civil war between the North and South (1983-2005) in power in the soon to be independent southern regions. “Dozens of civilians were captured and killed on the spot because accuse dof backing the SPLA or because of the Nuba ethnic group”, explained to MISNA Monim el Gak, co-founder of the Sudan Democracy Fight Group.
Concerns for the rights of this community, which prevalently supported the SPLA during the war, were expressed also by South Sudanese Vice-President Riek Machar. After calling on the UN Security Council to create a demilitarised zone along the border between the North and South, Riek claimed that there is the risk of an “ethnic cleansing” in South Kordofan.