Security Council deplores deadly attacks against civilians in southern Sudan

Security Council members today condemned the “grave attacks” in southern Sudan this weekend that have killed at least 185 people, many of them women and children.

Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, said the attacks were especially concerning given that they seemed to target women and children and involved the use of sophisticated weaponry.

The killings took place on Sunday in Akobo in Jonglei state and the victims reportedly include more than 100 women and children. At least 60 people from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) were also reported dead as a result of the attacks.

Mr. Sawers, speaking on behalf of Council members, stressed the need for the protection of civilians and measures to ensure humanitarian relief can reach those people in need.

They also said they support the joint efforts of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), the Government of Southern Sudan and local authorities to investigate the causes of the violence and to prevent any retaliatory attacks.

If the attacks continue, Mr. Sawers warned, they could jeopardize the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the wide-ranging pact from 2005 that ended the long-running and brutal Sudanese civil war between north and south.

Today’s remarks from the Council echoed a statement issued yesterday by a spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in which he voiced extreme concern at the situation and directed UN officials to provide aid and assistance to the victims of the violence.