U.N. hears worries over Sudan

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 10 (UPI) -- Both governments in Sudan are called on to renew efforts toward peace as a 2005 peace agreement threatens to unravel, a U.N. representative said.

A January referendum gave southern Sudan the right to form an independent nation in July. The measure was part of a comprehensive agreement reached in 2005 that ended a civil war.

Conflict in the de facto border region of Abyei, trouble in border states and concerns about the situation in Darfur threaten to undermine the peace agreement, however.

Mohamed Chande Othman, a U.N. independent expert, told the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights that more work was needed to secure the peace in Sudan.

"I urge both governments to renew efforts in these areas so as not to unravel the progress made during the five years of the implementation of the peace agreement," he said in a statement.

The government in Khartoum, he added, was urged to pull its forces out of Abyei. They occupied the region last month in violation of agreements for a joint police force in the area.

"I am concerned not only of the destruction, massive displacement and attendant humanitarian crisis but also of the future status and security of its residents," said Othman. "I also received allegations of killings, rape and other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment during and subsequent to the attack."