The United States on Monday strongly condemned the shelling of a U.N. logistics base in Sudan's South Kordofan State which killed one U.N. peacekeeper from Ethiopia and wounded two others late last week.
"The United States strongly condemns the shelling of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM) interim headquarters in Kadugli, Sudan's Southern Kordofan State reportedly by elements of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N)," said a statement issued by State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki.
Notably, Sudanese government forces and members of the SPLM-N rebel group have been fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States for months. Two shells hit the U.N. Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) base in Kadugli on Friday, killing one Ethiopian peacekeeper and injuring two others. The targeted base serves as a logistics facility for the U.N. mission in Abyei, an oil-rich area contested by South Sudan and Sudan.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the UNISFA peacekeeper, and also to the Government of Ethiopia, which has lost three UNISFA peacekeepers already this year. We also wish a speedy recovery for the other two peacekeepers wounded in the attack," the statement said.
The U.S. also called on all concerned parties to stop conducting military activities in areas occupied by non-combatants, such as Kadugli, and stressed that attacks on U.N. peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.
"The use of indirect fire against civilian targets by the SPLM-N and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), along with indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian areas by the SAF, violate international law, and have resulted in civilian deaths and widespread displacement," the statement said.
It stressed that Friday's deadly shelling underscores the need to immediately restart the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP)-facilitated direct talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N to allow for immediate and unhindered humanitarian access and the cessation of hostilities in the two areas.
"These talks are an important first step toward resolving the conflict between the SPLM-N and the Government of Sudan, and are intricately linked to the resolution of a number of remaining issues," the statement said.
UNISFA was established in June 2011 to secure the area after Sudanese troops took control of Abyei, displacing tens of thousands of people in the weeks before South Sudan became an independent State after seceding from Sudan.
Despite the partition, North and South Sudan have a lot of outstanding issues, such as ownership of the disputed oil-rich Abyei region, transit fees for South's oil passing though the North, arrangements on security, citizenship, international treaties, economics, a soft border and natural resources.
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