Armies clash on Sudan border

Sudanese armed forces continued their assault on South Sudan, bombing the South Sudanese army and displacing thousands of citizens in the Yau region of the Unity state. This is the most recent strike in an ongoing conflict over the nations' disputed borders.

On Thursday, the two armies clashed in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state in Northern Sudan, forcing about 30,000 Sudanese to flee the area. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan sent a company of Bangladeshi troops to the area to protect the refugees.

Additionally, an estimated 106,000 Sudanese have been displaced in the Abyei region, an oil-rich area on the North Sudan - South Sudan border. President Umar al-Bashir's Sudanese Armed Forces have occupied the area since May 21.

I am concerned not only of the destruction, massive displacement of the residents, and the attendant human rights crisis, but also the future status and security of the residents of Abyei, UN Justice Mohamed Othman Chande said Wednesday.

I received allegations of killings, rape and other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment during and subsequent to the attack, he continued.

Both sides claim the Abyei region, which accounts for about 25 percent of the nation's oil production. Abyei included, the soon-to-be-independent South Sudan controls around 75 percent of Sudan's total oil output. Outside observers were hoping that a revenue-sharing scheme could be agreed upon by the two parties, but that peaceful solution now seems out of the question.

Analysts fear that continued military action could restart a civil-war that devastated the nation for decades. The conflict ended with a 2005 peace treaty, and in January, 2011, the South Sudanese voted with an overwhelming majority to become an independent country.

South Sudan is scheduled to officially declare its independence on July 9.

The United Nations Security Council is condemning the violence, urging President al-Bashir to withdraw his troops from South Sudan.

The council demands that the government of Sudan withdraw immediately from the Abyei area, the Security Council stated Friday.

The council calls on the Sudanese armed forces to ensure an immediate halt to all looting, burning and illegal resettlement.

Demanding further action, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - South Sudan's military force - is insisting that President al-Bashir appear before the International Criminal Court over the Abyei occupation.

The Sudanese government, especially the leadership of the National Congress Party continues to undermine the implementation of key protocols in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement including the Abyei protocol. They decided to deliberately kill innocent civilians at the watch of the international community, who are guarantors of this peace, said Juac Agok, a deputy chairperson of the SPLM Abyei.