New York, US - The UN Human Rights Office on Monday expressed concern over reports of alleged mass graves in South Kordofan in Sudan and have requested access to the area to investigate the development. South Kordofan is a border state between Sudan and the newly independent South Sudan and conflict between the two sides erupted on 5 June.

The Satellite Sentinel Project, set up by Hollywood star and rights activist George Clooney, had last week announced that it had visual evidence that it claimed showed mass graves in South Kordofan.

A UN statement, made available to PANA in New York, stated that, ``UN officials, citing secondary sources, said there may be as many as 100 people buried there'.

It stated that Ivan Simonovic, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, said the reports from South Kordofan were ``very disturbing' following heavy bombardments and gunfire in different areas of South Kordofan.

The statement noted the UN humanitarian office also reported heavy bombardments and gunfire in different areas of South Kordofan over the past week.

South Sudan on 9 July became the world's newest independent country and on 14 July became the 193rd member of the UN.

Its independence came through a comprehensive peace agreement brokered in 2005 that ended Sudan's bloody civil war.

However, the sharing of oil revenue and violence along the border separating the
two Sudans has undermined the peace deal.

The US had last week issued a travel warning for South Sudan despite the optimism expressed during Independence Day celebrations.

Pana 19/07/2011