Sudan allows UN staff access to South Kordofan

The United Nations on Friday said that the Sudanese government has allowed its personnel to access South Kordofan State which is witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and rebels of Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan Mark Cutts welcomed on Friday the return of UN's international staff to South Kordofan State. "This follows a decision made earlier by the Government of Sudan to authorize their return. The first two international staff arrived today in the state capital, Kadugli," said Cutts in a statement. He acknowledged efforts that are being made by the government, together with national and international humanitarian organizations, to address humanitarian needs in the state, saying "we firmly believe that the United Nations and other independent and impartial humanitarian organizations have a vital role to play in helping to meet the needs of all Sudanese civilians affected by the fighting." "What is needed more than anything else is for the fighting to stop so that displaced people can return to their homes and so that people in the conflict affected areas can resume normal lives, " he noted, adding that "as long as fighting continues, civilians will suffer." Cuttes said that the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the Arab League (AL) have tabled a joint proposal to facilitate humanitarian access to conflict-affected people throughout South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Cutts expressed hope that they would soon operationalize the proposal, saying "we need to act very quickly to prevent the humanitarian situation from deteriorating further." The UN, the AU and the AL have earlier demanded speeding up delivery of humanitarian assistance to the affected areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, which are witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the rebels of SPLA/northern sector. The Sudanese government restricted the movement of aid workers for security reasons where Khartoum accuses international organizations of using the UN planes to transport arms to the rebels. Meanwhile, the Sudanese government has reiterated stability of humanitarian situations in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states where Ibrahim Adam Ibrahim, Sudan's State Minister for Social Welfare, has denied presence of any food gap in any of Sudan's states, affirming that there was enough reserve of wheat to meet any possible emergency. Khartoum further renewed welcoming the international assistances, provided that they should be provided through Sudanese mechanisms, revealing that over 53,000 citizens have returned from the rebel line to the government areas and that there were joint operations with the World Food Programme and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society to provide 310 metric tons of food for them. In this respect, Ibrahim said that "we are not against the work of international organizations or the international community because we are part of it." "Any organization is welcomed, provided that it should provide its services through the Humanitarian Aid Commission," he said. He described organizations he did not name of promoting for false information about the country, admitting weakness of some of the national humanitarian organizations.