4,000 S. Kordofan displaced arrive in South Sudan
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August 21, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – An estimated 4,000 refugees from Sudan’s
South Kordofan state have arrived in South Sudan’s Unity State,
according to the UN as fighting between Sudan’s military and the
opposition group the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) enters its
eleventh week.
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Residents gather outside the UNMIS sector headquarters after fleeing
fighting in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, Sudan, Thursday,
June 9, 2011. (UNMIS)s)
The border between North and South Sudan became an international one
on July 9 as Sudan’s southern region seceded from the rest of the
country. This left SPLA fighters from South Kordofan (and Blue Nile
state) in a different country from their wartime allies.
The Sudanese government said that the SPLA began the attack on police
station in Kadugli and stole its weapons forcing a response from SAF.
However, the SPLA accused the Khartoum-based government of seeking to
disarm its members in South Kordofan by force. The NCP declared the
situation in the state as an armed mutiny that would be dealt with
only in a military manner and not through political dialogue.
A UN report has found that war crimes and crimes against humanity may
have been committed against the indigenous Nuba population by SAF and
their allied militia the Popular Defense Forces (PDF). Khartoum has
dismissed the findings of the UN human rights report.
The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) is conducting registration procedures
to calculate the exact number of the estimated 4,000 displaced people
who have arrived in the Pariang area of Unity state.
Unity state authorities are reported to be attempting to repair the
Bentiu-Pariang road in order to improve humanitarian access to the
area.
Around 70,000 people are estimated to have been displaced by the
fighting in South Kordofan, which like Unity is rich in oil. Most are
thought to have moved north but some, such as those who have entered
Unity State, moved southward into newly independent South Sudan.
Earlier this month a joint committee consisting of internationals
NGO’s and the Unity State government has agreed to offer immediate
permanent settlement to refugees from South Kordofan in Parieng
County.
The UN, NGO’s and Unity state government are looking to prepare a new
site that is at least 50km from the border to house the refugees.
(ST)
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