UN to discuss escalating violence in South Kordofan

Evidence of genocide is piling up, says head of subcommittee on Africa

The escalation of violence in South Kordofan is expected to be discussed when the UN Security Council convenes over Abyei on Monday.

U.S. lawmakers have made a strong appeal for deployment of peacekeepers on the border of South Kordofan, citing a real danger of genocide to be committed on the ethnic Nubian people by the Khartoum regime.

Chris Smith, who heads the sub-committee on Africa, said that information about a looming genocide is piling up. He added that signals clearly point to systematic attacks on the people of Nuba by government forces.

Smith was called to an emergency hearing, organized by the Anglican Bishop of Kadugli, in South Kordofan, Andudu Adam Elnail. Bishop Elnail, Kadugli’s bishop since 2002, had already expressed his concerns before the secession of South Sudan: “Once again we are facing the nightmare of genocide of our people in a final attempt to erase our culture and society from the face of the earth.”

Violence against the ethnic Nubian people of South Kordofan has risen since June, just a month before South Sudan’s independence. Groups like Sudan Democracy First have already accused the government of ethnic cleansing in the Nuba Mountains.

In line with these accusations of human rights abuses, Bishop Elnail says that the Sudanese government forces are deliberately targeting civilians in the Nuba Mountains. He added: “Government troops are conducting a house to house search for supporters of the Popular Movement.”

The UNSC is also expected to discuss the deaths of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). Two days ago, the Sudanese authorities stalled the evacuation of three wounded Ethiopian UNISFA peacekeepers, leading to their deaths.