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                 Ongoing Clashes Impact South Kordofan Citizens

   by Kelly Nuxoll

Fighting in Sudan's South Kordofan state has forced tens of thousands to flee to
refugee camps. But what about those who stay behind?

   In South Kordofan, the Sudanese Armed Forces and Sudan People's
   Liberation Movement-North have been struggling for a year over control
   of the territory. But the clashes are taking their toll not only on the
   government army and rebels, but also on civilians.
   Claudio Gramizzi, an independent researcher who writes reports for the
   Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey, has just returned from the region.
   He describes abandoned fields, where farmers have not been cultivating
   crops for fear of getting hit by aerial bomb attacks from the SAF. If
   the attacks continue, farmers will likely miss the planting season this
   year, too.
   And as far as getting supplies from the single road to South Sudan,
   Gramizzi says an already difficult trip is about to become impossible.

   "I actually had to travel from the border to Juba by car myself, and it
   took me three days," he says. "There were already a lot of vehicles
   blocked in the mud, so the expectation is basically you have another
   couple of rains and the road will be blocked for at least three
   months."
   Ryan Boyette, an American who lives in South Kordofan and is married to
   a Nuba woman, confirms that people there are barely surviving. "Whether
   they're in their homes or in caves, they're all picking leaves of
   certain trees that they boil for hours and eat."
   Boyette, who is sympathetic to the SPLM-N, and Gramizzi both say the
   Sudanese government has not allowed humanitarian aid organizations to
   bring food and other supplies into the region. Gramizzi says that is
   because Khartoum is trying to force civilians to move into
   government-controlled territory.
   For instance, Gramizzi says that after a SAF attack in the village of
   Abu Hashim, people ran away and vacated the village. "Then when they
   came back two or three days later, they discovered a lot of things were
   looted. And that food stores were burned or destroyed."
   But the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, DC denies Khartoum is blocking
   aid. In an e-mail response to a request for an interview, an embassy
   spokesperson writes the challenge is getting aid to citizens without it
   falling into the hands of the rebels. And, he says, the government's
   aggressive measures are aimed at restoring security to the area.
   Ryan Boyette says those measures do not seem to be working to
   Khartoum's benefit. "When Sudanese Armed Forces comes into a village
   and completely burns down houses or does aerial bombardments on
   villages, it enrages the people that are living here. And they end up
   joining the SPLM-North to fight against their government."
   Independent researcher Claudio Gramizzi says the SPLM-N appears to be
   controlling the region, and that morale is high.
   Knowing what's happening on the SAF side is harder, he says. But it
   appeared to him that even though Sudan had airplanes and helicopters,
   they did not have trained soldiers or new recruits.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/ongoing_clashes_impact_south_kordofan
   _citizens/1210972.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/ongoing_clashes_impact_south_kordofan_citizens/1210972.html