The U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved a U.S.-drafted resolution authorizing the deployment of 4,200 Ethiopian troops to Sudan’s disputed Abyei region for a six-month period. The vote comes a week after North and South Sudan signed a deal in Addis Ababa to demilitarize Abyei and let Ethiopian troops monitor the peace. South Sudan is due to secede from the north to form a new nation on July 9. But the north and south have yet to agree on who will control Abyei. Meanwhile, aid workers have reported continued bombing in South Kordofan, which borders both Abyei and South Sudan. Philip Parham is the head of the British mission to the United Nations.

Philip Parham, Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.K. mission to the United Nations Security Council: “We remain deeply concerned about the situation in South Kordofan, both the humanitarian situation and the security situation, including the aerial bombardment in that area by Sudanese armed forces. It’s crucial that the parties end hostilities as soon as possible and reach a peaceful conclusion to the situation there under the auspices of the AU (African Union) high-level implementation panel in Addis Ababa.”