US urges parties to conflict in S. Sudan to stop fighting

Khartoum-The US has urged the parties to the conflict in South Sudan to stop military actions, and allow delivery of humanitarian aid to the needy people as talks started in Addis Ababa yesterday to agree on details of a cease fire to put an end to weeks of ethnical fighting in the newest state in Africa.
The spokeswoman of the White House, Caitlin Hayden, said that the US will stop the support and work on putting international pressure on any elements that use the force to seize power, adding that we will consider, at the same time, the leaders responsible for the actions of their forces, and we will work to ensure bringing those who committed atrocities and war crimes to justice.

Khartoum government has named Lieutenant Mohamed Mostafa Al-Dabi, as the representative of Sudan in the tripartite team of the envoys of the IGAD that includes Lazarus Sumbeiywo from Kenya and Mesfen from Ethiopia to end the fighting in South Sudan.

On his part, Chairman of Bor Municipality in South Sudan has revealed that the soldiers loyal to the former Vice President Reik Mashar has imposed control over Bor city, the capital of Jonglei state, adding that the government forces have tactically withdrawn to Malwal Chat barracks, three kilometers from Bor after outbreak of fighting at earlier time.

Western and regional forces are putting pressures on both sides to end the fighting that claimed the lives of thousands of people, reduced the oil production and raised concerns of a civil war on a regional basis in this vulnerable region.

In the meantime, the UN mission in South Sudan has denounced the atrocities committed in the country, and revealed a number of civilian bodies and killing of captive soldiers in several cities.
The UN in South Sudan said it is very concerned over the growing evidence that human rights violations were committed during the past 15 days. The statement refereed to executions of civilians and captive soldiers without trials in a number of areas in the country, pointing out that many bodies were found in Juba, Malakal and Bor cities in the Upper Nile and Jonglei states.

Hilde Johnson, the U.N. representative in South Sudan, has said that she is effectively gathering information on the committed atrocities to use them in a potential future official investigation although South Sudan has not signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

In Darfur region in western Sudan, the UNAMID police complained that armed groups are working to undermine security in the region. In the meantime, the UN said that two UN-African Union joint mission soldiers were killed after an attack by unknown armed group on their convoy near Giraida town in south Darfur state.

Arabic Forum