Sudans clash, president warns of war

Military aircraft from Sudan crossed the new international border with South Sudan and dropped bombs Nov. 10 in and around a camp filled with refugees, officials said. A government official initially reported deaths, but an American activist who spoke to aid workers at the camp later said there were no casualties.

The violence in and near the Yida refugee camp, located 15 kilometers south of the border, came one day after bombings were reported in another region of South Sudan, an attack that provoked strong condemnation from the U.S. State Department.

The president of South Sudan, which became the world’s newest country only four months ago, said he fears the Khartoum-based government intends to invade the south soon. “Whatever allegations Khartoum labels against the Republic of South Sudan are baseless, but intended to justify his pending invasion of the south,” President Salva Kiir said. He later added: “We are committed to peaceful resolutions to any conflict but we will never allow our sovereignty to be violated by anybody.”

A peace deal ended the war and South Sudan became its own country in July after a successful independence referendum. But there have been lingering disputes over border demarcation and oil-sharing revenues.