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.