Sudan: ethnic violence in south ‘worse than Darfur’

CounterVortex

At least 185—mostly Lou Nuer tribespeople—were killed in South Sudan's Jonglei state Aug. 2 when their fishing camps were attacked by Murle fighters. Eleven SPLA soldiers, who were guarding their camp, were among those killed. Thousands of others have been displaced in Jonglei following an attack on Mareng village by Murle tribesmen. There have been several such attacks since March, resulting in a food crisis as displacement has disrupted agriculture. The fighting has claimed several hundred lives this year—more than in Darfur, the UN says.

Local SPLA commanders blame the Khartoum government for fueling the violence. "There must be a force somewhere, a force that keeps arming these militias, a force that keeps sending ammunition to the militias," Maj. Gen. Kuol Deim Kuol told the BBC. "There is not another force in this way that can keep arming and sending ammunition to the local population apart from the Sudanese army and the [northern governing] National Congress Party." (BBC News, Catholic Information Service for Africa via AllAfrica, Aug. 4)

See our last post on Sudan.

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  1. Canadian oil company off the hook for Sudan genocide
    From AP, Oct. 2:

    NY appeals court rules for Canadian energy company
    NEW YORK — A federal appeals court in New York has ruled that a lawsuit alleging that a Canadian energy company aided genocide in its pursuit of oil in Sudan was properly thrown out.

    The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed Friday with a 2006 judge’s ruling that found there was no credible evidence to support the claims against Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc.

    The company is Canada’s biggest independent oil and gas exploration and production company.

    A 2001 lawsuit seeking unspecified damages was brought by the Presbyterian Church of Sudan on behalf of current and former residents of southern Sudan who suffered injuries during six years of a decades-long conflict in the region.

    Both the Canadian and U.S. governments had opposed the lawsuit.