Darfur / Secretary-General gravely concerned by the recent fighting between Government forces and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, May 27, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Daily press briefing by the offices of the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general and the spokesperson for the general assembly president.
On Darfur, we issued a statement yesterday, in which the Secretary-General said he was gravely concerned by the recent fighting between Government forces and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), in the area of Umm Baru in North Darfur. Noting that the clash was reportedly initiated by the JEM, the Secretary-General condemned such military action. He reminded both the parties of the commitment they made in Doha this January to settle the conflict between them through peaceful negotiation. He called on the parties to suspend military action and apply themselves fully to achieving a negotiated, inclusive and lasting resolution to the conflict.
The Joint AU-UN Special Representative for Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, has also urged all parties to the Darfur conflict to seek a peaceful resolution to their differences. Adada voiced particular concern at the humanitarian impact of the fighting on civilians. The African Union-UN Mission there, UNAMID, says that it gave temporary shelter to some 350 civilians and 100 unarmed Sudanese soldiers and others who fled the violence and took refuge near its local military base. The Mission says calm has returned to the area, but the situation remains unpredictable.
SOURCE
United Nations – Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General
