U.N. condemns violence in Sudan

Marchers protest against the government's military occupation of the Abyei region in southern Sudan.Northern and southern Sudan claim the region of AbyeiThe United Nations wants the north to withdraw its troopsSouthern Sudan plans to secede in July

United Nations (CNN) -- The U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned the violence in the disputed Sudanese region of Abyei and called on the government in the north to pull out its troops.

"The council demands that the government of Sudan withdraw immediately from the Abyei area," the statement said.

The council called on both parties to adhere to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended two decades of Sudanese civil war.

The north has occupied Abyei for about two weeks. Both sides claim the territory in anticipation of southern Sudan's planned secession from the north on July 9.

The council condemns all unilateral actions aimed at swaying the negotiations, the statement said.

On Tuesday, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, the Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations, said Sudanese forces for the government based in the north have been exercising restraint.

"We went to Abyei to put the house in order and to the stop any violation by the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) creating havoc by the armed forces in Abyei," he said. "We immediately declared that our presence there is temporary. We are not going to stay indefinitely in Abyei."

For his part, Ezekiel Gatkuoth, the representative of the Southern Sudanese Mission in United States, urged the Security Council to focus on the situation in his country.

"We are asking the world to intervene immediately so that our people, who were displaced from Abyei, are assisted," he said.

The Security Council statement was read by the ambassador of Gabon to the United Nations, Nelson Messone. That country holds the presidency of the Security Council this month.

CNN