UN urges Sudan to end air strikes on civilians

UN urges Sudan to end air strikes on civilians

2011-09-08 07:50:19 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) on Wednesday called on the Sudanese Government to immediately end its air strikes on civilian populations as has been reported in Southern Kordofan state.

Two senior UN human rights officials said the reported air strikes could be causing further killings and displacement, reminding 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.

Francis Deng, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and Edward Luck, Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, also noted that a preliminary report last month by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found that attacks against civilians as a result of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement - North may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The two experts urged the Government to investigate the alleged crimes and hold accountable all those responsible, including for their incitement. "If the Government is unable to do so, it should allow a prompt international investigation into the ongoing attacks against the civilian population in Southern Kordofan," they said.

Last week Ban called for an immediate end to the fighting and for access for humanitarian agencies to the affected areas. The war crimes included extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and illegal detention, enforced disappearances, attacks against civilians, looting of civilian homes and destruction of property, as well as massive displacement.

According to independent sources, the SAF have continued aerial bombardments in Southern Kordofan, particularly in the Nuba mountains region. Latest reports indicate that the violence has spread over into neighboring Blue Nile state, resulting in tens of thousands of civilians fleeing to neighboring states and across the border into Ethiopia.

Southern Kordofan borders the newly independent South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan on July 9.

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