The UN mission in Sudan on Thursday strongly condemned the arrest of six of its peacekeepers by Khartoum's forces operating in South Sudan's Southern Kordofan region and demanded their immediate release, DPA reported.
The six staff members are Sudanese nationals working for the UN peacekeeping mission. They were arrested by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the region as they were preparing to be relocated to another site, the UN said.
The UN mission said it was "very concerned about the safety and security of its staff members and requests their immediate release until evidence of any illegal activities is presented by the local authorities to UNMIS."
SAF had been clashing with the Sudan People9s Liberation Army (SPLA) of Southern Sudan in Southern Kordofan, in the Nuba Mountains. South Sudan is slated to become a sovereign state on July 9 after seceding from the north in January.
The violence since June 5 in the region has displaced an estimated 73,000 people, the UN said.