June 17, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The United States on Monday issued a
condemnation of the shelling that took place last week in a Sudanese
border state and hit a United Nations peacekeeping base.
The Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) said that it only
targeted government military installations in South Kordofan capital
town of Kadugli.
However, the rebel group said nothing about the shells that hit the UN base leading to the death of one Ethiopian peacekeeper.
"The
United States strongly condemns the shelling of the Joint Border
Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM) interim headquarters today
in Kadugli, Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state reportedly by elements of
the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), which killed one
United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) peacekeeper
from Ethiopia and wounded two others" said the statement released today
by the US State department.
"We call on all parties to stop
conducting military activities in areas occupied by non-combatants, such
as Kadugli, and we stress that attacks on UN peacekeepers may
constitute war crimes" it further said.
The U.S. said that the incident highlights the need for Sudan and the SPLM-N to resume negotiations.
"This
tragic event underscores the need to immediately restart the African
Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP)-facilitated direct talks
between the Government of Sudan and the SPLM-N to allow for immediate
and unhindered humanitarian access and the cessation of hostilities in
the Two Areas" the US State department said.
"These talks are an
important first step toward resolving the conflict between the SPLM-N
and the Government of Sudan, and are intricately linked to the
resolution of a number of remaining issues".
After nearly two
years of stonewalling, the Sudanese government agreed last April to sit
down with the SPLM-N in Addis Ababa for direct talks on the conflict in
the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states which border South Sudan.
But the talks adjourned without any breakthrough and it is not clear when they may resume.
Sudanese
president Omer Hassan al-Bashir announced late last month that he is
ending dialogue with rebel groups in the wake of their assault on
several towns in north and south Kordofan.
The insurgency remained
a sticking point in relations between Khartoum and Juba with the former
accusing the latter of backing the rebellion.
This month, Bashir
ordered his government to close pipelines carrying oil from landlocked
South Sudan to Port Sudan for exporting to international markets.
Sudanese officials later said the decision could be reversed if Juba gave up its support to the anti-Khartoum rebels.
http://www.sudantribune.com
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