SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED BY UPSURGE IN DARFUR FIGHTING,

 

SAYS ATTACKS ENDANGER PEACE PROCESS

 

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the recent upsurge in fighting in Darfur.  The timing of the violence is particularly troubling as it could create conditions that are not conducive to the success of the upcoming political negotiations due to begin in Libya on 27 October.  The most recent fighting took place in Hashkanita, northern Darfur, on 10 and 11 September when, according to reports of the African Union Mission in Sudan, aerial bombardments involving helicopter gunships and ground military clashes apparently caused the deaths of a number of civilians.  The Secretary-General reiterates his concern that attacks by any of the parties, including the ones that occurred in Adilla, southern Darfur, and Wad Banda, Kordofan, last month, endanger the peace process.

The Secretary-General is alarmed by the fact that the reported attacks took place in spite of the signing of a joint communiqué on 6 September, during the Secretary-General’s visit to Sudan, in which the Government of Sudan committed to a full cessation of hostilities in Darfur in the lead-up to the political negotiations, under the auspices of the African Union and the United Nations.

The Secretary-General strongly urges all parties to show restraint and cease all military action in order to create a positive atmosphere for the envisaged political negotiations.

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For information media • not an official record