Six Injured in Bombing Raid on South Sudan Village

Six civilians have been wounded in a bombing raid in Upper Nile state, South Sudanese officials said Thursday, blaming the attack on neighboring Sudan.

“There was an Antonov that bombed Kor-tubak in Maban County (Wednesday)... wounding six innocent civilians," South Sudan army spokesman Philip Aguer said.

"The plane came from Sudan. It is only Sudan that has the capacity of the Antonov in the region,” he said.

The attack came two weeks after an Antonov bombed a village in Raja County in Western Bahr el Ghazal state, wounding at least two dozen people. 

Raja County Commissioner Hassan Jallab blamed that attack on Sudan.

Raja County borders the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur, and has been the target of numerous air attacks since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. The attacks worsened in 2012 when South Sudan shut down oil production because of a dispute with Sudan over oil transit fees.

Upper Nile is one of the states that have been hard hit by the 11-month conflict in South Sudan. The oil-rich state borders Blue Nile state in Sudan,  where rebels have been fighting Sudanese government forces for more than three years.

Khartoum has accused South Sudan of providing safe haven to militias  fighting its government, an allegation that Juba has repeatedly denied.