Sudan accused of declaring war on southern republic

Dubai: Sudan and its newly independent southern neighbour inched dangerously close to open war yesterday as South Sudan endured a second day of aerial bombing.

Several people were wounded in multiple air strikes on the villages in the South's oil-rich border regions overnight, reaching around 25 kilometres from the frontline between the rival armies.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir, on a visit to Beijing where he met President Hu Jintao, said his "neighbour in Khartoum has declared war on the Republic of South Sudan".

Overnight on Monday, bombers hit border villages in the South's Unity state following earlier air strikes on the state capital Bentiu, governor Taban Deng said.

"We cannot be sitting at the mercy of the Sudanese air force," Deng added. "If nothing is being done, for sure we will retaliate... We are very serious about this. We are not joking."

Al Bashir's threat

Last week, Sudan's President Omar Al Bashir threatened to crush the "insect" government of the South, and said the time for talks was over.

Despite the South's withdrawal from Heglig at the weekend, both armies are reportedly reinforcing troop numbers and digging into trenches along their contested border.

Southerners are furious at what they see as international inaction against Khartoum, after they complied with the demands to withdraw.

US President Barack Obama, while calling on Sudan to cease its aerial bombardments, has said South Sudan "must end its support for armed groups inside Sudan and it must cease its military actions across the border."

Sudan accuses the South of supporting anti-government rebels from its conflict-hit western region of Darfur as well as those fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

The South, which split from Sudan in July 2011 following an independence referendum, denies the charge.