2 Killed in Clashes in Sudan's Kordofan Region

SPLA-North rebel fighters pictured near Jebel Kwo village in rebel-held territory in South Kordofan on May 2, 2012.

Insurgents shelled the capital of Sudan's South Kordofan state Tuesday, leaving two children dead and eight people wounded.

The attack happened Tuesday in Kadugli, a town near the border with South Sudan. The rebel SPLM-North confirmed the casualties to VOA.

Sudan's military says the rebels were targeting army positions in the town but also hit civilian residential areas.

Rebel spokesman Arnu Lodi says the shelling was a response to recent government air raids on villages in the region.

This is the second deadly shelling of Kadugli by the rebels this month. The government said a rebel attack on October 8 killed five people and wounded 23.

The SPLM-North has been fighting the Khartoum government since June of last year. The clashes in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, with many fleeing to South Sudan.

Sudan has accused South Sudan of supporting the rebels, a charge the South denies.

The SPLM-North group is an offshoot of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, which fought for the south during the Sudan's civil war, which ended in 2005.

The south gained independence last year but the two Sudans remain at odds over oil and border issues, though some disputes were settled in an agreement reached last month.