Sudanese Government Continues Aerial Bombings
In October and early November, the Sudanese government continued
the aerial bombings of civilian and humanitarian targets that have uprooted
Sudanese civilians from their homes for many years. The bombings resumed
shortly after U.S. government officials won an uphill diplomatic battle to
defeat the Sudanese government's bid for a highly coveted position on the
UN Security Council in October.
On October 10, the UN General Assembly voted to award Africa's new two-year seat on the UN Security Council to Mauritius instead of Sudan. The U.S. government and numerous human rights organizations opposed Sudan's bid for the UN Security Council because of human rights violations and aerial bombings of civilian targets.
After a three-week bombing lull that preceded the Oct. 10 vote, the
Sudan government resumed the aerial bombings. The day of the vote, a
Sudanese government plane bombed a school and a food distribution site in
the village of Ikotos in southern Sudan's Eastern Equatoria Province. Ten
humanitarian aid workers and thousands of Sudanese civilians were at the
site during the bombing.
On October 12, Sudanese government planes again bombed civilian
targets in the towns of Ikotos and Parajok. Nine bombs fell on Ikotos during
a food distribution by an international aid agency, injuring seven people,
including at least four seriously. Aid workers reported that pregnant women
were among those seriously injured. The aid agency affected evacuated its
staff members from Ikotos.
In mid-October, a UN human rights report on Sudan stated that aerial
bombings by Sudanese government planes had killed an estimated 45 people
and injured some 230 this year. An estimated 2 million people have died of
causes linked to Sudan's civil war during the past 17 years. Some 4.4 million
Sudanese remain uprooted.
(November, 2000)
SOURCE:
Refugee Reports, Vol. 21, No. 11 (2000)
