Sudan: September 22, 2002

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Interviews in Nairobi, Kenya, with aid workers returning from south Sudan confirm several StrategyPage conclusions regarding the Sudanese government's aerial bombing campaign. Here is a typical attack, as described by one aid worker who was bombed several times in late 2000 while working on a food relief program in Bahr el Ghazal (BEG in relief worker lingo). The "converted" AN-12 transport appears flying very low and very slowly. The engines have a high, "ringing whine." The plane will either circle slowly or fly over the village. People on the ground can see the Sudanese Air Force personnel in the back of the plane. The Sudanese Air Force personnel literally push the bombs out of the plane. One relief worker told me "They (the aircraft personnel) can see us. They know we are not guerrillas or with the SPLA. Then they push out the bombs any way." One relief worker described for me the process of digging a slit trench as a place to hide during an air attack. Preparing a slit trench is SOP for aid workers in several places in south Sudan. (Austin Bay)

 

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