UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon Monday strongly condemned the hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces and rebels in north Darfur, and called on all parties to immediately stop the ongoing fighting.
"The secretary-general strongly condemns the hostilities, which have taken place today between a rebel movement and the Sudanese Armed Forces on the outskirts of El Fasher, in north Darfur," the UN spokesperson, Michele Montas, said in a statement issued here Monday.
"The secretary-general deplores these continued military action which continues to put civilian lives at risk and to jeopardize the political process," the statement said.
"The secretary-general calls on all parties to immediately cease ongoing hostilities to abide by their obligations under international law," the statement said.
The current fighting in Darfur followed clashes earlier this month in south Darfur involving the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minawi (SLA/MIM), the statement added.