East Sudan rebels urge media to view bomb damage

By Ed Harris

ASMARA, June 25 (Reuters) – Rebels in Sudan’s remote east urged the world’s media on Saturday to come and see damage in civilian areas that they say was caused by government bombing.

Rebels from Sudan’s Eastern Front parade north of Kassala town, near the Eritrean border, in March 2005. (AFP).

The Eastern Front insurgents — lesser-known but with similar complaints to rebels in the western Darfur region — say Khartoum ordered warplanes to bomb the area in recent days in retaliation for attacks on army bases.

The government of Africa’s largest nation, already under pressure for its military tactics in Darfur including aerial attacks, denies any bombardment in the east and there was no immediate confirmation from witnesses in the region.

“They failed on the ground, so they bombed the whole area,” Salah Barqueen, spokesman for the Front, told reporters in neighbouring Eritrea on Saturday. “We are inviting the international media to come and see for themselves what happened … The Khartoum government are liars, big liars.”

As well as reports of injuries to civilians and livestock, the Front official said civilian houses and wells were damaged.

“Why would we say (invent) this story now? There have been plenty of other opportunities,” he said.

There were no immediate reports of any injured being brought into the hospitals in Tokar or Port Sudan.

SEARCH OPERATIONS

Sudanese officials have confirmed aerial “search operations” were under way in the east to find those responsible for attacks on military posts last weekend that rebels say led to the capture of 20 soldiers. But they deny bombing.

The Front, like the Darfur rebels, say they are fighting to end neglect and discrimination against Sudan’s outlying areas from central government. They want a bigger share of power and wealth in the oil-producing nation.

If the bombings were confirmed, it would be the first time in years that warplanes had targeted the eastern areas.

Analysts fear eastern Sudan could become the next major flare-up in Sudan, where the Darfur conflict has brought international condemnation and a 21-year-old war in the south only ended a few months ago.

The Front says bombing in the last couple of days took place in the Barka Valley west of Tokar, a town 75 miles (120 km) south of Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

The latest offensive first broke out in the east last weekend near Tokar, when Front fighters attacked army bases.

The eastern rebels have held a small piece of territory just next door to Eritrea in eastern Sudan since the late 1990s. The Eastern Front has friendly ties with rebel groups in Darfur and former rebels in the south.

Although a poor and arid area, the east of Sudan is crucial to its budding oil industry as it contains a major port.

Barqueen said Khartoum’s peace overtures were hypocritical.

“They talk about peace in Cairo, they talk about peace in Abuja, they talk about peace in Naivasha. But at the same time, they are killing people,” he said, referring to various recent rounds of peace negotiations Sudan has held with different opposition groups.