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6 March 2012 The Security Council
today expressed grave concern about reports of renewed cross-border
violence between Sudan and South Sudan, and called for a ceasefire
in the area to end the hostilities that have caused thousands
of people to flee the region over the past weeks.
The Council, in a presidential statement, demanded that all
parties cease military operations in the border areas and put
an end to the cycle of violence, and that both Governments
take no action that would undermine the security and stability
of the other.
Tensions between the two countries
over unresolved border disagreements have continued to simmer
and heavy fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the Sudan
Peoples Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) in South
Kordofan and Blue Nile states has led to a humanitarian crisis
and triggered massive displacement.
The Council urged the Sudanese and South Sudanese Governments
to return to direct talks to resolve their political and security
issues on the basis of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA),
the 2005 document that ended decades of civil war and led to South
Sudan formally seceding from Sudan last July.
The 15-member body also emphasized
the urgency of delivering aid to prevent the current crisis from
worsening.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also warned that
the recent clashes are prompting thousands of people to flee their
homes and seek for safety in South Sudans Upper Nile state
and western Ethiopia.
Last week, UNHCR registered 2,287
new arrivals in the Doro and Jammam refugee sites in Upper Nile,
bringing to more than 80,000 the total number of registered refugees
in this region. In western Ethiopia, the agency is also receiving
a steady flow of new arrivals mostly from Sudans Blue Nile
state.
We are working at establishing a third camp to accommodate
the growing Sudanese influx into Ethiopia, UNHCR spokesperson
Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba told reporters at a briefing in Geneva.
The new camp is located in Bambasi and will have the capacity
to house up to 20,000 refugees when it is completed later this
month, she said, adding that UNHCR is expecting more arrivals
into South Sudan and Ethiopia because refugees reported that more
communities are on the move in Blue Nile.
Ms. Lejeune-Kaba said the security situation is also precarious
in the other border areas between South Sudans Unity state
and Sudans Southern Kordofan after reported bombings last
week along the western border of Pariang County and in the Lake
Jau area.
We are extremely concerned about the safety of people in
the nearby Yida refugee settlement, which hosts 16,022 Sudanese,
Ms. Lejeune-Kaba said. UNHCR is continuing to transfer refugees
away from volatile border areas to refugee sites we have established
at safer distances from the fighting.
South Sudan now hosts more than 100,000
registered Sudanese refugees from South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
Western Ethiopia has so far registered more than 30,000, mainly
from Blue Nile.
Meanwhile, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) confirmed that
fighting between Lou Nuer and Murle youth had taken place in Jonglei
state over the weekend, with the number of casualties still unknown.
The Mission stated that it sent patrols to the area to determine
the cause of the clashes and the number of casualties.