The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan Ali Al-Za'tari is ‘shocked’ by the attack last Saturday on Um Rawaba and other areas of North Kordofan, his office said in a written statement.

His statement comes two days after the Sudan Revolutionary Front raided Um Rawaba, overpowering local security forces, firing at government buildings and looting the market.

According to Za’tari, destroying civilian installations such as power stations and public facilities is “not the way to approach peace.”

He also pointed to the renewed shelling of the South Kordofan capital by anti-government forces saying that “violence can only set back efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan by peaceful means and is particularly disappointing in the context of the direct talks between the Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North that began in Addis Ababa last week.”