Sudan government bombs two southern towns, eight dead

NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- Sudanese government warplanes have bombed two rebel-held towns in the south of the country, killing at least eight civilians and narrowly missing a U.N. relief plane, rebels and aid officials said Tuesday.

Russian-built Antonov bombers circled over the towns of Tonj and Mapel in Bahr el Ghazal province Monday and dropped more than a dozen bombs on each location, said Samson Kwaje, spokesman for the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).

At least 200 people were hurt, some badly, he added.

"We now hear there are eight confirmed dead in Tonj and at least 200 injured. I'm sure some of them might die," he said.

"The casualties were high because the bombs hit a market place. There was also a school nearby, but we don't know if it was directly hit."

At Mapel, 18 bombs were dropped, some close to a relief aircraft parked on the airstrip, said a U.N. official in Nairobi who declined to be identified.

The international charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, which runs health and feeding centers in Mapel, said it had evacuated some of its staff following the raid.

"We're still waiting for details," said Leen Verstraelen, southern Sudan representative for MSF-Belgium. "We don't know exactly what was hit or whether there were casualties."

There was no immediate comment from the government.

The SPLA and other rebel groups have been fighting Sudan's Islamic government for 17 years for greater autonomy for the mainly Christian and animist south. An estimated two million people have been killed in the conflict and related famines.

The government has stepped up bombing raids on the southern province of Bahr el Ghazal in recent weeks following the capture by the SPLA of the government garrison town of Gogrial.

Non-governmental aid agencies operating under the U.N.-led relief effort Operation Lifeline Sudan Monday accused the government of carrying out 33 bombing raids on civilian targets in July.

In a statement, the agencies said the attacks would "exacerbate further the fragile humanitarian condition of many in the south," where up to a million people are dependent on food handouts.

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