Special Reports U.N. wants end to South Kordofan violence
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 8 (UPI) — The Sudanese government is called on to immediately end its air assault on the border state of South Kordofan, U.N. officials said.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir recently called for a cease-fire in South Kordofan and denied reports of mass graves and ethnic violence in the area. Khartoum blames rebel forces from South Sudan for much of the violence in the border regions.
Francis Deng, the U.N. special envoy for the prevention of genocide, and Edward Luck, a U.N. special adviser on the responsibility to protect, in a message to Khartoum, called for an immediate end to the assault on South Kordofan.
"We remind the government of Sudan of its responsibility to protect its populations, irrespective of their ethnic, religious or political affiliation, from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity," they said in a statement.
Conflict has spread to Blue Nile state along the border between Sudan and South Sudan. Sudan, through its official news agency, has repeatedly brushed off allegations regarding the severity of the violence.
Both experts, nonetheless, called on Khartoum to get serious about the violence and conduct an investigation into alleged crimes committed there.
"If the government is unable to do so, it should allow a prompt international investigation into the ongoing attacks against the civilian population in South Kordofan," they said.
Bashir is accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Khartoum isn’t party to the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court, however.
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