Refugee camp bombed in South Sudan

A refugee camp in South Sudan's Unity state was bombed yesterday, threatening to raise tensions with Sudan in the violence-plagued border region. The United Nations confirmed the attack in an area where about 20,000 refugees are camped after fleeing violence in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile provinces north of the border.

Violence along the poorly defined border since South Sudan's independence in July has strained ties between the two former civil war foes. They have accused one another of backing rebel groups on their sides of the border.

The bombings came just days after aggressive comments by Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, indicating Sudan’s readiness to engage in further warfare.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s team leader for Africa and the Middle East, Dr. Khataza Gondwe, described a the bombings as a major international incident: “This is a major violation of the sovereignty of South Sudan, and is basically an act of war. And worse than that, it could be an international crime, because you don’t bomb refugee camps.”

She called on the international community to act to prevent an escalation in the violence: “This is why we’re calling on members of the international community . . . to actually rise up now and put pressure on the north to stop them from doing what they are doing.”

Listen to the full interview of Dr. Khataza Gondwe with Christopher Wells: