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France wants peaceful settlement of post-referendum problems in South Sudan
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Mar 15, 2011 - 6:45:53 AM

France wants peaceful settlement of post-referendum problems in South Sudan
News - Africa news

Paris, France - The settlement of all issues, left in abeyance during the referendum of 9 January in Southern Sudan must be dealt with in a constructive and responsible dialogue, the spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Valero, declared Monday in Paris. Speaking in a news conference, Mr Valero expressed France's support for the high-level panel of the African Union (AU) on Sudan led by former South African president, Thabo Mbeki. 'We deplore the fighting that took place in several states in Southern Sudan, in particular in the state of the Higher Nile. We call on the parties to display a sense of responsibility and refrain from violence in this crucial period,' Valero said.

Several issues, among them the delineation of the borders and the sharing of oil revenues between the North and the South, have remained in abeyance after the referendum which ended in an overwhelming 'yes' vote.

Officials of the new independent state and the federal government in Khartoum were also expected to find a compromise on the region of Abyei and on the citizenship of Sudanese from Southern Sudan living in the North and those from the North living in the South.

Pana 15/03/2011