South Sudan's army was recently forced out of the disputed town of Abyei Sudan's military has bombed a village in an oil-rich southern region, southern officials say, as tensions increase ahead of the south's independence next month.
Three people were killed in the raid on Unity State, in a move to take control of the region's oil fields, the south's military spokesman said.Some 140,000 people have fled recent fighting along the border, the UN says.
Sudan's north-south conflict left some 1.5 million dead over two decades.
The war ended with a 2005 peace deal, under which the mainly Christian and animist south held a referendum in January on whether to secede from the largely Arabic-speaking, Muslim north.
Some 99% of voters opted for independence. President Omar al-Bashir said he would accept the verdict of the south, where most of Sudan's oil fields lie.
But last month, his forces seized the disputed town of Abyei. There have also been recent clashes in South Kordofan state, which is in the north but is home to many pro-south communities.
"SAF [Sudan Armed Forces] aircraft bombed the area of Yau, in Unity state, many times on Thursday," he said, adding that the attacks had continued on Friday.
"This area is deep inside South Sudan and is a move by Khartoum to control the area and create a de facto border to control our oil fields."
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One is that northern planes were bombing armed forces fleeing fighting in Southern Kordofan state, and overshot across the southern border.
That shows the government in Khartoum will stop at nothing to crush armed forces there, who used to be part of what is now the south's army.
The other is potentially worse: if the south's fears are proved correct, the north wants to annex oil-rich border areas.
The south already accuses Khartoum of backing rebels in the same area - as a proxy force to control the oil fields there - claims denied by rebels and Khartoum.
The south protested but did not react militarily to Khartoum's occupation of the contested Abyei region last month, but bombing in the south itself is a step beyond even that.
The north bombed the south in attacks last year, and the situation did not escalate.
But with the south about to break away, tensions now are far higher. It raises the prospect of a worrying slide back into north-south war.
Analysis
There are two scenarios. Neither is good.One is that northern planes were bombing armed forces fleeing fighting in Southern Kordofan state, and overshot across the southern border.
That shows the government in Khartoum will stop at nothing to crush armed forces there, who used to be part of what is now the south's army.
The other is potentially worse: if the south's fears are proved correct, the north wants to annex oil-rich border areas.
The south already accuses Khartoum of backing rebels in the same area - as a proxy force to control the oil fields there - claims denied by rebels and Khartoum.
The south protested but did not react militarily to Khartoum's occupation of the contested Abyei region last month, but bombing in the south itself is a step beyond even that.
The north bombed the south in attacks last year, and the situation did not escalate.
But with the south about to break away, tensions now are far higher. It raises the prospect of a worrying slide back into north-south war.
However, a UN official said the bombing took place in a disputed area, where southern fighters had gathered, AFP reports.
The Khartoum-based military has not commented on the allegations.The BBC's Peter Martell in South Sudan says the southern reaction suggests they are taking it very seriously indeed.
If the south's fears are proved right, our correspondent says it is a worrying development as it could trigger wider north-south clashes.
But he says it is also possible that it could be an extension of the fighting in South Kordofan, with the north bombing pro-southern fighters who had crossed into South Sudan.
Between 30,000 and 40,000 people have fled recent fighting just across the north-south border in South Kordofan, the UN says.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said more half of the population of the South Kordofan capital, Kadugli, had left their homes.
She also said aid agency offices in the town had been looted and that many aid workers were among those who had fled, reports the AP news agency.
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