Mayors in Sudan’s South Kordofan demand no-fly zone

Mayors from the Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, urgently requested the international community to intervene in the war-torn region and declare no-fly-zones in a statement on Monday. “More than 40 partial agreements have been signed since the National Congress Party seized power in 1989”, mayors of 15 provinces in rebel-controlled areas stated. “The root causes of crucial issues in the country, however, have never been addressed.” The statement, received by Radio Dabanga, was issued and signed by the 15 mayors of provinces “liberated” by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). They affirm the Nuba people’s rejection of any partial solution to the problems of the region, considering them as “central issues that must be resolved within a broad national framework. The Nuba strongly support the unification of peace negotiations in order to resolve the issues of the entire country in a comprehensive framework.” The mayors also reject the “integration of SPLM-N troops into the Sudanese army”, as “they may be used in internal conflicts”. Intervention of international community The signatories of the statement urgently request the international community to stop the Sudanese Air Force’s bombardments on civilians in South and North Kordofan, the Blue Nile, and Darfur, and declare these regions no-fly-zones. They demand from the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) and the international community to visit the “liberated areas”, to “determine the size of the population, witness their suffering, and learn about their viewpoints”. The international community should “immediately and unconditionally” intervene and deliver humanitarian assistance to the war-affected regions “to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, women, and elderly”. According to the statement, the SPLM-N is controlling 85 percent of South Kordofan. About 1,200,000 people are currently living in the “liberated areas”, divided into 15 provinces. Each province is headed by a mayor and an “executive director”. File photo: A victim of an aerial bombardment in the Nuba Mountains lies in Gidel hospital near Kauda, South Kordofan. (Radio Tamazuj) Related:Sudan Revolutionary Front leaders meet with US Special Envoy (23 February 2014)’SPLM-N will discuss AUHIP proposal’: Malik Agar (19 February 2014) Negotiations between Sudan government and SPLM-N collapse (16 February 2014) Sudan opposition welcomes proposal of ‘unified platform’ (16 February 2014)Sudan rejects SPLM-N’s demand to discuss humanitarian issues (7 February 2014)