Sudan: Statement by Nuba Community in Kenya on the Current Crisis in South Kordofan State

The Nuba people are currently inhabitants of the Nuba Mountains in central Sudan, South Kordofan state. South Kordofan is one of the three contested areas in the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA).The Nuba people have been marginalized by the central government, subjected to slavery, forced into ismalization and arabization. For this reason, the Nuba people took up armed struggle under SPLM/SPLA against the Khartoum regime.

Last month, The Sudanese government gave an ultimatum to SPLA, to disarm or withdraw south of 1956 boundary. That was in breach to the security arrangements stipulated in the CPA. On June 5, 2011 the Sudan armed force (SAF) started to implement the ultimatum and a war broke out between SAF and the SPLA of the Joint Integration Unit (JIU), leading to great disaster among the Nuba people. The violation of the agreement has resulted in the following events:

1. Military aggression, house to house arrest and civilian execution for those perceived to be sympathetic to SPLM.


2. Air raid and bombardment of civilians with MG 27 fighter jets and antonov bombers reinforcing troops on the ground.


3. Death of hundreds of people and the displacement of at least 600000 civilians across the Nuba Mountains.


4. Disruption of livelihoods as they now lack food, shelter and medical services.


5. Blocking of humanitarian aid and journalists from both borders to avoid news reaching the international community.


6. Failure by the United Nation Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to protect civilians.

As the Nuba community, we call upon the international community to respond to the current crisis by putting the protection and dignity of the Nuba civilians as the first priority in the resolution of this crisis. To achieve this, the following steps should be taken:

• Stop military operation in the Nuba mountains ( call for a cease fire)


• The parties involved must protect civilians and respect the laws of war and human rights.


• Provide and allow unlimited access for humanitarian aid to reach the people of the Nuba Mountain


• UNMIS must actively seek to stop the ethnic cleansing, protect civilians and monitor the human rights, humanitarian and military situation.


• Provide security for civilians and aid workers as stipulated in the mandate entrusted to them by the Security Council under chapter vii of the UN charter.


• Replacement of the Egyptian UNMIS forces in the Nuba Mountains because of their lack of neutrality and the violations of victims within their sanctuaries especially raping of women.