1 May 2012 - A top UN official voiced concern today about the plight of thousands of South Sudanese stranded at Kosti in Sudan's While Nile State, where they have been waiting for barges to take them back to their country.

Of the 12,000 to 15,000 South Sudanese marooned at Kosti barge embarkation station, many have been waiting months for transport back to South Sudan, according to UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Ali Al-Za'tari.

"Kosti, a major town on the White Nile, is a significant transit point for South Sudanese returning to South Sudan," the resident coordinator said.

"As those awaiting repatriation from Kosti to South Sudan are in a vulnerable position and lack many basic services, including adequate shelter, vital and quick collaboration is needed from Sudan and South Sudan to alleviate the hardship of those stranded," said Mr. Al-Za'tari.

According to press reports, including from the official Sudanese new agency SUNA, authorities from that country have ordered South Sudanese nationals stranded in Kosti to leave their camps within a week.

Those stranded needed Sudan and South Sudan, which became independent from Sudan in July 2011, to cooperate in arranging river transport as well as international assistance with basic services like food, water and health care, Mr. Al-Za'tari said.

He urged the Sudanese government to continue working closely with the UN and its humanitarian partners to ensure that movement of people from Sudan to South Sudan occurred safely and quickly.

Outstanding post-independence disputes between Sudan and South Sudan have escalated into armed confrontation along the border areas in recent months amid exchanges of hostile rhetoric.

South Sudanese troops recently invaded Sudan's oil-producing region of Heglig in Southern Kordofan State to eventually depart, while Sudanese forces have been carrying out aerial bombing raids inside South Sudan.

Various UN officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Special representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan Hilde F. Johnson, have called for a cessation of hostilities and a return to negotiations to resolve outstanding issues.

In a unanimously adopted resolution on 2 May, the UN Security Council threatened the parties with sanctions if they failed to formally convey their commitments to end hostilities, including aerial bombardments, within 48 hours.