---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Sun, Jun 26, 2011 at 10:37 PM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fw: Train carrying southern Sudanese attacked To: Group <[email protected]>
Train carrying southern Sudanese attacked - U.N. Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:44pm GMT * Misseriya official denies role in the attack * South Sudan to secede in less than two weeks KHARTOUM, June 26 (Reuters) - A train carrying southern Sudanese migrants was attacked in the country's conflict-stricken Southern Kordofan border state on Sunday, killing at least one person, the United Nations said. U.N. spokeswoman Hua Jiang said the most recent information indicated armed Misseriya tribesman were behind the attack. A senior Misseriya official denied the tribe had a role in the attack, and blamed it on rebels from neighbouring Darfur. South Sudan will declare independence on July 9, but fighting in the vaguely-defined border region has complicated the split and raised fears of a broader conflict. Many southerners are trying to return home ahead of the secession, which sometimes involves crossing through volatile areas. "A train transport of southern Sudanese returnees going from Kosti to Wau was attacked by Misseriya militia this morning," Jiang said, adding at least one person was killed and four were wounded. Mohamed Omer al-Ansary, a Misseriya leader, confirmed an attack occurred, but said the tribe was not involved. He blamed the attack on rebels from Darfur, which neighbours Southern Kordofan and is the site of a separate insurgency. "The Misseriya did not attack this train and we do not fight civilians," he said. The Misseriya are a nomadic, Arabic-speaking tribe associated with the north. Southerners voted to secede in a January referendum, the culmination of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war. The conflict over religion, ethnicity, ideology and oil claimed some 2 million lives. Clashes broke out between the northern army and southern-aligned troops in Southern Kordofan -- the north's main oil state -- on June 5. About two weeks earlier, Khartoum moved tanks and troops into the disputed Abyei region. More than 180,000 people have fled the fighting in Abyei and Southern Kordofan, the United Nations says. (Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz and Alex Dziadosz) http://af.reuters.com/article/sudanNews/idAFLDE75P0C020110626?sp=true END ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.za/group/sudan-john-ashworth -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
