REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NEY YORK -- The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Friday called on all parties to ensure unhindered freedom of the movement of UN and humanitarian workers, a UN spokesperson said.

UNMISS said that its patrol was stopped in Bentiu, northern South Sudan, Thursday by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and asked to return to its base despite receiving clearances earlier. Similarly, another patrol was stopped on the road to Mayom town, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told journalists at a daily briefing here.

"The mission is concerned over these violations of the Status of Forces Agreement, as signed between the Mission and the government, and calls on all parties to ensure unhindered freedom of movement of UN and humanitarian workers so they can continue to undertake their work," he said.

The mission is also concerned over reported violence around a civilians' protection site in Bentiu where some 23,000 civilians are accommodated.

UNMISS once again urged both sides to implement immediately the "Agreement to Resolve the Crisis in South," including ceasing all hostilities and provocative actions.

The agreement was signed on May 9 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, by South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, and former Vice President Riek Machar, whose supporters have waged a five-month battle that has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians and led to gross human rights violations by both sides.

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