The Sudanese army will continue to fight by all available means to stop the rebellion in South Kordofan, its spokesman said on Thursday, as concern grew over the humanitarian impact of the conflict. “Until this moment we are continuing our operations in the hills around Kadugli, to stop this rebellion… We will continue to fight by all the means we have,” Sawarmi Khaled Saad told a news conference in Khartoum.
Heavy fighting in Sudan’s embattled border state, between the SAF and allied militiamen against troops aligned to southern former rebel group the Sudan People’s Liberation Army has raged since June 5, has caused more than 60,000 people to flee their homes, according to UN estimates. UK-based charity Save the Children said on Wednesday that 30,000 of those displaced were children.
Earlier, the UN emergency relief coordinator, Valerie Amos, said she was “seriously alarmed” about the impact of the conflict on the local population. “I am extremely alarmed by the violence that has engulfed South Kordofan in Sudan since 5 June and the increasing reports of civilians being targeted,” Amos said in a statement.
“Humanitarian organisations are delivering aid where they can, but their ability to help most of those in need is seriously compromised by insecurity and lack of access,” she added.
The Sudanese army spokesman denied that it was harming the people of South Kordofan, and blamed the state’s main opposition leader, Abdelaziz al-Hilu, himself a senior SPLA commander and former deputy governor, of starting the rebellion. “Our role is to protect the civilian population and we have carried out these operations to protect the civilians and the roads in South Kordofan,” he said.