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Sudan rejects UN-AU statement on violence at Jebel Marra

Xinhua, March 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Sudan on Saturday criticized a joint statement issued by the UN and African Union (AU) in which they expressed their concern over violence at Jebel Marra in Central Darfur State.

"The statement should have blamed the rebel movements and factions that rejected all national and regional initiatives to reach a peaceful solution to Darfur crisis," Ali Al-Saddiq, Sudan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters.

He explained that the majority of the people displaced by the recent incidents returned to their home areas after the fighting stopped, pointing out that the Sudanese government has offered them with humanitarian aid.

In a recent statement, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma voiced deep concern about the upsurge of violence in Jebel Marra over the last weeks, and its effects on civilians.

They urged all parties to engage in serious negotiations for a cessation of hostilities and a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

More than 90,000 civilians have been displaced by the recent battles in Jebel Marra, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan said in its most recent report.

In mid January, violent clashes erupted between the Sudanese army and rebels of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)/Abdul-Wahid Nur faction around Jebel Marra area in Sudan's Central Darfur State, which forced thousands of civilians to flee. Endit