‘Al-Bashir is a liar’

Qamar Dahlman says the Sudanese president isn’t serious about implementing a ceasefire in South Kordofan

President Omar Al-Bashir is a liar, Qamar Dahlman, spokesperson of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in South Kordofan, said on Tuesday.Dahlman told Radio Dabanga, “Bashir made an announcement that there are no air strikes in South Kordofan for two weeks. That is a lie and is meant to mislead people. The government MiGs and Antonovs were bombing civilians in Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan when he was making the announcement.”

Bashir had made the announcement at the final conference of a civil administration’s meeting in Kakulai on Tuesday. The ceasefire, according to Bashir, was a move that came out of his want for peace and to mark the end of the Holy month of Ramadan.

To this Dahlman responded saying that a ceasefire is not implemented by making an annoucement in a press conference and that it must be discussed over negotiations.

The SPLM (South Kordofan) spokesperson added that Bashir’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) had rejected a framework agreement, initiated by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, with the SPLM (North) about peace in South Kordofan.

Dahlman added that Bashir wasn’t serious about the framework agreement either.

Government airstrikes continue

On the other hand, a woman and a child were injured in an airstrike launched by a government aircraft on Monday and Tuesday in large areas of the Nuba Mountains.

Mubarak Abdul Rahman, chairperson of the Youth SPLM in South Kordofan told Radio Dabanga, “The bombing happened in the areas of Haban, Kauda, Buram. It killed an 11-year-old boy Kiriyunios Teya. It also caused the death of a number of cattle and damaged farms.”

Mubarak said that the bombing renewed on Monday morning and led to 85-year-old veteran Kochi Fadlallah being seriously injured in the leg and hand in Buram. The incident also led to the death of animals and damage to crops in the region, he added.

Government airstrikes targeting civilians in South Kordofan has been a routine occurrence in the past few months.