Is Khartoum avenging its inability to win back Gogrial, a garrison town in Southern Sudan and Hamash Koreib in the East from the Opposition? In spite of the promise Beshir made on 19 April to stop aerial bombing except in self defence and where there are active military operations, his Antonovs are launching massive attacks against civilian targets in both regions.

In SPLA held zones the particular targets were several facilities of Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS), the umbrella group covering U.N. agencies and NGOs, that offer relief aid to millions of Sudanese throughout the country. This organisation works with Sudanese government consent and besides is not allowed to go everywhere in the country.
- End of June : 32 bombs on 4 localities (residential areas)
- July : 364 bombs on 32 localities. Among the targets: an MSF France (Médecins Sans Frontières) health centre, in spite of a clearly identifiable MSF flag and  International Red Cross which had a clinic and a plane damaged.
- Up to 22 August : 111 bombs on 16 localities. Mapel was attacked three times and Tonj twice. Mapel, South West of Wau is a U.N. base for O.L.S. Bombing of the airstrip took place while a U.N. plane, cleared for a aid flight by the Sudanese government, was taking off. According to the WFP its relief facilities were attacked by a low-flying plane. M.S.F. Belgium is also present at Mapel. Many of these bombing raids caused relatively few casualties in terms of dead and injured but according to the SPLA the August attack on Tonj hit a school and a market killing 12 people and wounding 100. Two days later a bomb fell in the Catholic Mission compound. In another attack the Norwegian Relief Centre was hit.

These attacks have taken place during the very difficult annual “hunger gap” period when food from the previous year’s crops has all been consumed and the current year’s is not ready for harvesting. Even when the bombing raids cause few casualties in dead and injured they are very harmful to the population, either because they cause the people to flee, thus increasing the number of displaced persons, or because the people are afraid to go to the clinics and relief centres that are targeted. The result is always an even greater famine.

In the hilly Red Sea region to the East of Sudan near the Eritrean border (in the North) some Koranic schools have been hit. A Sudanese Opposition party, member of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Beja Congress, accused the government on 18 August of having bombed the town of Hamash Koreib and the surrounding area. Hamash Koreib is a religious centre. The Beja Congress speaks of continuous aerial bombing during the week of 6-13 August : “We have photos”. It adds that Hamash Koreib, is in a demilitarised zone and that opposition military forces are stationed outside its boundaries. According to the same source a government patrol seriously wounded three civilians. Remember that the oil pipeline crossed the Beja region.

After having been bombed, on August 8 the UN halted all relief operations in Southern Sudan and evacuated its staff, to the detriment of the population. Sudan gave odd explanations. 
On the one hand it accuses OLS of providing assistance to the SPLA, and accuses its staff of being “virtual enemies of the State”; Sudan further says that the SPLA has violated the ceasefire in Bahr el Ghazal (this is true, but it is not a reason) and suggests that the only solution to the problem is to force Garang to respect the ceasefire (that expired on 15 July!). 
On the other hand it said first of all it knew nothing of the bombing of civilians by the government in Southern Sudan. (Who else owns Antonovs?), and would make investigations, before denying everything and then giving assurances for the safety of OLS operations and requesting it to resume its activities. This was on 16 August. The logic of all this is far from clear. The disorganization caused by the bombing raids and the halting of relief operations has surely caused many deaths.

The Security Council, the U.S. as well as Canada condemned the government’s attitude. The U.S. Committee for refugees advised that Southern Sudan be declared “a special humanitarian zone” with automatic right of access for relief operations. The European Union’s commentary came late and was as discreet as it could possibly be.

The bombing continues, but OLS is safe for the time being.