To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in (a) the Nuba Mountains, (b) Abyei and (c) northern Sudan; what reports he has received of inter-community tensions; whether he plans to take steps in response to such reports; and if he will make a statement. (244329)

[holding answer 17 December 2008]: We monitor intercommunity tensions throughout Sudan through the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), the Security Working Group of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) and those NGOs we work with on community peace-building and conflict resolution projects.

We monitor southern Kordofan, including the Nuba mountains, and Abyei closely. Our ambassador visited the region in November as chair of the AEC Security Working Group. The group assessed that, although there was no immediate risk of major conflict, tensions in the area remained high and the international community and UNMIS would need to continue to observe the situation closely.

We encouraged the UN to prioritise its resources in high-risk areas including the Nuba mountains and Abyei when the Security Council discussed the Secretary-General's report on Sudan in November.