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“We just want a rest from war”- South Kordofan demands justice

The International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) and the National Human Rights Monitoring Organization (NHRMO) report, “We just want a rest from war,” brings the voices of civilians living through the conflict in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan State to the international community.

The conflict in Southern Kordofan State (and neighboring Blue Nile State) began in 2011, in the run-up to the secession of South Sudan. The war pits the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) against the Sudanese military, and to date has been a stalemate.

 

Over two million have been affected by the conflict, where an average of three bombs per day have allegedly been indiscriminately dropped by the Sudanese air force on civilians in rebel-held territory.

But while the situation in Darfur was referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council in 2005, little effort has been made to hold perpetrators in Southern Kordofan accountable.

The victims IRRI and NHRMO spoke with want that to change.

Said one bombing victim:

“I am sending my voice loudly to the international community and the Security Council to stop this government from killing its own civilians and to protect them. Your silence is a shame to humanity.”

The report’s authors urge the international community to create a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and other human rights violations in the region.

 

Dr. Lucy Hovil, IRRI senior researcher:

“This report clearly demonstrates that those living in SK don’t want our pity, they want solidarity. Their determination to survive, against overwhelming odds, is not being even vaguely matched by support from the international community.”

Have your say – What should the international community do to help civilians in Southern Kordofan State?