UN chief called on Sudan to extend the mandate of peacekeepers in South Kordofan

Statement by Ban Ki-moon was made ​​due to the fact that the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) will begin to curtail their activities on July 10, the day after the official declaration of the independence of Southern Sudan. "I urge the Sudanese government on technical and practical reasons, to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in Sudan, at least until the situation (in South Kordofan) is not normal" – quoted by the words of UN Secretary General. The UN mission was deployed in Sudan in 2005 to oversee the implementation of the peace agreement signed this year between the central government and the rebels of southern Sudan. The official proclamation of independence of Southern Sudan on 9 July after completing a six-month transition period that began after summing up the referendum on secession of the South Sudan from the northern part. The vast majority of Southerners during the plebiscite called for the creation of an independent state in the oil-rich southern Sudan, which for decades fought against the government of the North for its independence. However, the authorities of North and South are still unable to agree on many contentious issues, particularly concerning the delimitation of boundaries, membership disputed border areas, and revenue sharing from oil production. In late May, six weeks before the official formation of an independent state in July in southern Sudan, seriously aggravated the situation in the border area of Abyei between northern and southern Sudan. After the attack on yuzhnosudanskih military units of the armed forces of the North, accompanied by UN peacekeepers army troops occupied the northern Abyei, where there are up to now. Following this wave of violence swept across the South Kordofan, touching, including its capital, Kadugli, where because of the hostilities broke out between the armed forces of the North and the Sudan People's Liberation Army were forced to flee more than 40 thousand people. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier urged both sides to fulfill the agreements reached by Abeyu and provide accommodation where Ethiopian peacekeepers and stop the violence in Sudan's South Kordofan state border.