Mr Obama said it was clear that military might would not solve the current
crisis that has left at least 65 people dead, and called on both sides to
honour their pledges or the US might reconsider its promise to remove Sudan
from its list of states sponsoring terrorism.
His warning came as talk of a ceasefire deal at the African Union summit in
Ethiopia gave way to further reports of bombings by the northern Sudanese
Armed Forces in the north's main oil state which borders south Sudan.
The United Nations Mission in Sudan said northern jet fighters dropped 11
bombs around Kauda, in the Nuba Mountains, on Tuesday morning and was
causing "huge suffering" to the civilian population. There were
further clashes in the border territory of Abyei on Wednesday.
"The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan must live up to their
responsibilities," Mr Obama said. "The government of Sudan must
prevent a further escalation of this crisis by ceasing its military actions
immediately, including aerial bombardments, forced displacements and
campaigns of intimidation.
"I want to speak directly to Sudanese leaders: you must know that if you
fulfil your obligations and choose peace, the United States will take the
steps we have pledged toward normal relations.
"However, those who flout their international obligations will face more
pressure and isolation and they will be held accountable for their actions."
Southerners voted for independence from the north in a January referendum that
was promised in a 2005 peace deal ending decades of civil war in which 2
million died. The south is due to declare formal independence on July 9, but
the split has been complicated by disputes over where to draw the common
border and how to divide oil revenues.
The area under bombardment is a former rebel stronghold where indigenous Nuba
people fought with the southern rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation
Army, during the war.
The SAF denied it was targeting civilians, insisting it was battling a
rebellion in South Korodfan. "Saying that the army is targeting the
Nuba is false information from the rebels, to show the world that they are
suffering from marginalisation," Rabie Abdel Ati, ruling party official
at the information ministry, said.
According to the Catholic charity Caritas, more than 60,000 people have
already fled their homes. It said more than 70 per cent of the population of
Kadugli had fled the city, with over 27,000 people fleeing to Kauda. It said
that "an unknown number of people" were believed to be hiding in
the Nuba Mountains, where the latest bombings are said to have taken place.
"Families looking after displaced people are running out of food as
commercial supplies are disrupted. The onset of the rainy season will make
reaching people even more difficult," Caritas said.
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, warned that another Darfur,
could be looming.
"The humanitarian challenge is already great, and the risk of another
Darfur situation, with civilian populations at the mercy of
government-supported terror, is a real one," he said.
The Sudan Democracy First Group claims that around 65 people have already been
killed in what they described as a genocidal campaign by Khartoum.
It adds to the estimated 1,500 killed in total since a largely peaceful
independence referendum held in the south in January.
A spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in London, Ibrahim Mubarak, said
pro-south militias had initiated the latest violence.
"They are not disciplined. They attacked UN forces and Sudanese army
forces and instigated the whole situation," he said.
