Oval Office Chat Session: Obama and Kiir

Leaders Discussed Tension Between South Sudan and Sudan

President Obama spoke today with President Kiir to urge him to build on the recent achievements of the nationality and citizenship agreements initialed by South Sudan and Sudan, and to express hope that the two countries’ heads of state will meet soon at a summit, as they had previously agreed.  

President Obama also expressed concern about the growing tensions between South Sudan and Sudan, especially the violent clashes along their shared border and renewed fighting in Southern Kordofan State. 

President Obama underscored the importance of avoiding unilateral actions, and asked President Kiir to ensure that South Sudan’s military exercises maximum restraint and is not involved in or supporting fighting along the border, particularly in Southern Kordofan. 

The President further emphasized the importance of South Sudan and Sudan reaching an agreement on oil.

President Obama welcomed President Kiir’s commitment to moving forward with a summit and to finding peaceful solutions for Sudan and South Sudan.

'Such Attacks Are a Violation of International Law...'

Southern Kordofan area

Press Secretary on Aerial Bombardments in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States

The United States strongly condemns the bombing by the Sudanese Armed Forces of civilian populations in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States in Sudan. Aerial attacks on civilian targets are unjustified and unacceptable.  Such attacks are a violation of international law and compound the ongoing crisis in these areas. 

We continue to be deeply concerned by the ongoing fighting and lack of humanitarian access in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States in Sudan, which is causing tremendous human suffering, death, and displacement. In particular, we urge the Sudanese government to grant immediate and unconditional humanitarian access to civilian populations in need in these areas.  

More than 500,000 people are affected by this conflict, and without humanitarian access by March, the situation in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile will reach Stage 4 of a humanitarian emergency, one step short of full-scale famine. We believe that this conflict can only be resolved by dialogue, not through violence, and we encourage all parties to negotiate a peaceful settlement. 

Image courtesy of   Sudan location map.svg by NordNordWest 

Author:  Сержант Кандыба 

Permission:  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported