Obama calls for calm in Sudan, South Sudan
- 12 years ago
EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL
US President Barack Obama is calling for calm in Sudan and South Sudan as tensions in the two nations continue.
Obama made the statements Friday.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYING:
"So my message to you today is simple: It doesn't have to be this way. Conflict is not inevitable. You still have a choice. You still have a chance to avoid being dragged back into war, which only leads to one place, more suffering, more refugees, more death, more lost dreams for you and your children. We know what needs to happen. The government of Sudan must stop its military actions, including aerial bombardments. It must give aid workers the access they need to save lives and it must end its support for armed groups inside the South. Likewise the government of South Sudan must end its support for armed groups inside Sudan and it must cease its military actions across the border.
Last week, both sides were on the brink of a full blown conflict after South Sudan seized a disputed oil area. They later withdrew their troops but tensions remain high.
South Sudan separated from Sudan last July but the two countries have been at loggerheads over their shared border-- a dispute that has halted nearly all the oil production that is so essential to both countries' economies.
Julie Noce, Reuters
US President Barack Obama is calling for calm in Sudan and South Sudan as tensions in the two nations continue.
Obama made the statements Friday.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYING:
"So my message to you today is simple: It doesn't have to be this way. Conflict is not inevitable. You still have a choice. You still have a chance to avoid being dragged back into war, which only leads to one place, more suffering, more refugees, more death, more lost dreams for you and your children. We know what needs to happen. The government of Sudan must stop its military actions, including aerial bombardments. It must give aid workers the access they need to save lives and it must end its support for armed groups inside the South. Likewise the government of South Sudan must end its support for armed groups inside Sudan and it must cease its military actions across the border.
Last week, both sides were on the brink of a full blown conflict after South Sudan seized a disputed oil area. They later withdrew their troops but tensions remain high.
South Sudan separated from Sudan last July but the two countries have been at loggerheads over their shared border-- a dispute that has halted nearly all the oil production that is so essential to both countries' economies.
Julie Noce, Reuters