Sudan denies stoking unrest

Allegations that Sudanese forces bombed a school in the state of South Kordofan are "baseless accusations," the Sudanese embassy in Washington said. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice last week said she was "outraged" over reports that Sudanese forces bombed a school in South Kordofan. Rice said nobody was killed in the attacks, though eight bombs were dropped in what she said represented the "viciousness" of the border conflicts. A statement issued by the Sudanese Embassy in the United States rejected Rice's statements. "These are simply baseless accusations fabricated by American activist groups who do not have any presence in that area," the embassy statement read. "They're only propagating the false claims of the rebels and other activists who also previously manufactured lies regarding presence of mass graves." The embassy added it was working with the World Food Program and UNICEF to respond to the humanitarian situation along the southern border. Any claims that Khartoum wasn't working to address humanitarian concerns, the embassy said, are "purely speculative." Ethnic conflicts, border clashes and disputes over oil threaten to unravel a peace deal that brokered an end to civil war in the region in 2005. The embassy said it was committed to the protection of civilians, noting only rebel forces in the area were targeted.