Sudan: Rights Groups Call for Cessation of Military Flights

By Staff Writer

KHARTOUM — Following the Government of Sudan’s brutal attacks on innocent civilians, leading anti-genocide and human rights groups from the Sudan Now campaign are calling for the United Nations Security Council to demand that the Government of Sudan immediately cease conducting offensive military flights in and over the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

"Bombing innocent civilians within sovereign borders and bombing refugees in a neighburing country are war crimes that should not go unanswered,” said Enough Co-Founder John Prendergast. “At a minimum, the United Nations Security Council should expand the existing ban on offensive military flights over Darfur to the other zones of war, and begin to examine ways to enforce the Council's call to end these flights of terror."

The groups are further calling for the United States and the international community to urgently press for full and unimpeded access for international humanitarian organizations to South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

“Given the absence of consent by the Sudanese government, the United States and international partners should immediately prepare alternative means of distributing emergency assistance to civilians in any area where denial of aid is being used as a weapon of war,” said AJWS President Ruth Messinger.

According to an October 24 report from the UN Humanitarian Affairs Office, more than 330,000 people had been displaced by the attacks from Blue Nile and South Kordofan, walking days to the relative safety of refugee camps.

“The Bashir regime’s actions – terrorizing and killing civilians, bombing refugee areas and signaling its willingness to go to war with South Sudan – must be met not with words but with strong, swift action by the Obama Administration,” stated United to End Genocide president Tom Andrews. “It’s past time for Secretary of State Clinton to lead in forging UN Security Council action including sanctions, the deployment of a civilian protection force and an investigation into the atrocities still being committed in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.”

In July, South Sudan officially declared its independence from Sudan, the result of a bloody, 22-year long civil war. Fighting and attacks have continued in the past few months in disputed border areas and areas where Sudanese historically fought on the side of the Southerners. 

Sudan Now is a campaign led by a group of anti-genocide and human rights advocacy organizations committed to bringing meaningful and lasting peace to Sudan and encouraging strong American leadership and action to achieve this goal. The campaign challenges President Obama, top U.S. administration officials, and the international community to live up to their promises to take strong and immediate action to help end the international crisis in Sudan and bring a lasting peace to Sudan’s people. Organizations participating in the campaign include Humanity United, the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Genocide Intervention Network/Save Darfur Coalition, Stop Genocide Now, Investors Against Genocide, and American Jewish World Service.