Days before South Sudan declares independence from the north, there is evidence that the North continues to bomb civilian targets in the border region of South Kordofan.
The US continues to be concerned by fighting in the region, at the border of Sudan and what will become the independent nation of South Sudan, the US State Department said Wednesday.
"We continue... to call on the parties to agree to and implement an immediate cessation of hostilities, to allow unfettered access for aid workers, and to provide the humanitarian assistance into southern Kordofan," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "This is an urgent requirement."
South Sudan is poised to become independent on Saturday, July 9 after five decades of conflict with the north.
But a certain number of key issues remain unresolved, among them the countries' final boundaries, division of oil revenues and the status of citizens in the south who remain living in the north.
On Wednesday, Britain's Channel 4 News screened footage of grieving Nubian people on the border who said they had been attacked after voting for secession from the North.
On Tuesday, UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed 'disappointment' Tuesday over ongoing clashes in the embattled state of South Kordofan, and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Fighting in ethnically-divided South Kordofan has raged for a month between the army and northern militia aligned to ex-rebel army of the south (SPLA). The conflict has escalated tensions between north and south Sudan ahead of southern independence scheduled for Saturday.
"The secretary-general expresses his disappointment" and "calls on the parties to immediately cease hostilities, ensure the protection of civilians and provide all support necessary for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in need," Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said in a statement.
"The secretary-general calls on the parties to resolve the underlying issues to the conflict through political dialogue," as agreed in a June 28 accord, the statement added.
A number of key issues have yet to be resolved between north and south Sudan under the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA), including the final status of the contested Abyei region, the demarcation of the border, oil and debt.
North and south Sudan have been under considerable international pressure to strike a deal on those issues before the country divides.
