BAN KI-MOON SOUNDS ALARM ON VIOLENCE IN OUTSKIRTS OF SUDANESE

BAN KI-MOON SOUNDS ALARM ON VIOLENCE IN OUTSKIRTS OF SUDANESE
CAPITAL
New York, May 10 2008 10:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon today voiced grave concern over the fighting spurred by attacks by
the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) forces that has broken out
on the outskirts of the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

Mr. Ban "condemns strongly the use of armed force and military means by
JEM for the achievement of political ends and calls for an immediate
cessation of fighting and a renewed commitment to a peaceful resolution
of outstanding issues," according to a statement issued by his
spokesperson.

He also expressed his anxiety over the impact of the recent violence on
the overall situation in Sudan, as well as on the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement (CPA), which ended 21 years of civil war between South Sudan
and the national Government of the country, and the Darfur Agreement,
targeting the war-torn region on the country's western flank.

Furthermore, the Secretary-General voiced concern over the "possible
effect on the civilian lives and property of any escalation of such
attack."

Yesterday, the UN and African Union (AU) envoys spearheading efforts to
reach a lasting political solution in Darfur underlined the civilian
suffering resulting from the fighting.

Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim said in a statement that they are
"alarmed and deeply troubled" by the military escalation between the
Government and JEM.

Noting that all sides have agreed that there is no military solution to
the five-year conflict in Darfur, the parties must "act accordingly."

More than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2.5 million
displaced from their homes since 2003, when rebels began fighting
Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen in the arid and impoverished
region of Darfur.

2008-05-10