UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — Weeks of inter-communal violence in the disputed Abyei area of Sudan left several people dead and thousands displaced from their homes, a UN spokesman said.
“The UN Interim Security Force there is deeply concerned about the renewed violence in the southern part of the Abyei area,” said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. There are longstanding grievances and disputes between communities in Abyei and neighboring areas.
Dujarric said the peacekeeping mission in the disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan urges the parties to exercise restraint. The mission increased patrols of the areas most affected by the recent violence and provided shelter and protection to people fleeing the fighting.
Dujarric said the assailants targeted the Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital in Agok and carried out three armed attacks on UN patrols. He said attacks on health facilities are unacceptable and can violate humanitarian law. — NNN-XINHUA
