- GENEVA: The United Nations has voiced concern at the fate of 7,000 Sudanese civilians last seen being forced by authorities to leave the protection of a UN compound in the tense border region between the North and South.
A UN spokeswoman says the global body has asked north Sudan authorities for access to the civilians who are believed to have been taken to the nearby town of Kadugli in South Kordofan province last week.
Spokeswoman Corinne Momal-Vanian told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that so far authorities have denied the request.
An internal UN report obtained by The Associated Press said Sudanese intelligence agents posed as Red Crescent workers and ordered the civilians to leave the UN camp June 20.
UN officials in Geneva declined to confirm the report.