Rebels claim bombing Sudan’s Kadugli airport

Four pro-government militias were killed and seven others were wounded following shelling fired by rebel forces on the airport of the capital of South Kordofan on Monday. SPLA-N spokesman Arnu Ngutulu Lodi told Radio Dabanga that shelling on Kadugli was on-going for two days. “Our forces bombed the city of Kadugli from the east and west sides with heavy artillery. They also targeted military sites inside the city”, he added. Lodi called on citizens not to allow Khartoum to use them as human shields and urged them to stay away from military sites, including the airport. The spokesman warned civil aviation authorities not to use Kadugli’s airport or to fly over North and South Kordofan as the states have become “part of rebels’ operation areas”.   In a previous statement on Saturday, Lodi said SPLA-N forces had carried out attacks east of Kadugli to “liberate the villages of Al Remaila, Al Kibeba, Al Shiheta and Al Bejaya”. He said the towns were controlled by “popular defense forces and militias … who killed children and displaced and looted innocent people”. Radio Dabanga was unable to independently verify these reports.File photo: Kadugli cityRelated: UN aid boss ‘shocked’ by North Kordofan attack, Sudan (29 April 2013)