Sudanese bishop urges US to use broad diplomacy to end violence
(June 17, 2011) A bishop in southern Sudan has urged the United States to use whatever
diplomatic means it can to pressure the government of President Omar al-Bashir to
end its attacks on civilians in South Kordofan state. Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala
of Tombura-Yambio said the danger of war is great if troops from the North continue
their attacks in an attempt to control key areas along the unresolved border between
Sudan and Southern Sudan, which is scheduled to become independent July 9. Speaking
on Thursday to Catholic News Service, prior to testifying about the situation in Southern
Sudan to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human
Rights, Bishop Kussala expressed the people’s fears saying, “We want the American
community to prevent us, to not go back to war." While sporadic conflicts began soon
after residents of Southern Sudan voted overwhelmingly to be independent from Sudan
in a January referendum, the violence intensified in May as government troops from
the North sought to control key areas in South Kordofan, which borders the oil-rich
states of Unity and Upper Nile.