Egypt denies bombing South Sudan rebels

Sunday 05-02-2017 01:31 PM

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (C) is escorted as he arrives for the 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and the Government of the African Union in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri - RTSY30Q

CAIRO, Feb 5 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt's foreign ministry has denied allegations of being involved in strikes against South Sudanese rebels, in a statement on Saturday.

South Sudanese rebels accused Egypt of dropping “more than nine bombs and explosions” on their bases, near the northern village of Kaka.

They accused President Salva Kiir's government of seeking to escalate the war, and warned of the risk of a regional war.

“Egyptian participation in the ongoing war in South Sudan are clear indications to the people of South Sudan...that the Juba regime is provoking the region and tilting South Sudan for a regional war," the statement said.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid denied the allegations in a statement on Saturday night.

“Egypt does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries,” the statement read. 

South Sudan government also denied the allegations, with presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny describing the rebels’ claims as "nonsense”.

"Those small packets of rebels are...operating inside our population and we cannot bomb our own population," he said.

War broke out in South Sudan in 2013 between Kiir’s security forces and groups loyal to his former vice president Riek Machar after political tensions turned into a military confrontation. 

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