Sudan: Obama calls for ceasefire in Southern Kordofan

United States President Barack Obama welcomed the peace deal in Sudan's disputed Abyei region but warned that without a ceasefire in Southern Kordofan the country's North-South peace deal was in jeopardy.

“I commend [the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement] for taking this step forward toward peace [in Abyei], and I urge them now to build on that progress and agree to an immediate cease fire in Southern Kordofan,” Obama said.

Obama described the situation in Southern Kordofan as, “dire, with deeply disturbing reports of attacks based on ethnicity.”

Khartoum is accused of setting its army and allied Arab militias against against Nubians, the black African residents of Southern Kordofan who fought alongside the south during the 22-year civil war that ended in 2005.

President Omar al-Bashir is already wanted for genocide in Darfur and observers say similar ethnic attacks are being perpetrated in Southern Kordofan as well as indiscriminate bombardments from the air and artillery assaults.

Aid agencies say that an estimated 73,000 have been forced to flee the fighting that broke out on 5 June.

“The United States condemns all acts of violence, in particular the Sudanese Armed Forces aerial bombardment of civilians and harassment and intimidation of UN peacekeepers,” Obama said.

“With a ceasefire in Southern Kordofan, alongside the agreement to deploy peacekeepers to Abyei, we can get the peace process back on track,” he said.

“But without these actions, the roadmap for better relations with the Government of Sudan cannot be carried forward, which will only deepen Sudan’s isolation in the international community,” Obama warned.