U.S. delegation to visit Abyei on Tuesday

March 5, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese committee for the administration of Abyei area Sunday said a joint delegation from the American embassy in Khartoum and the USAID will visit the border disputed region on Tuesday.

The executive director of the Sudanese body Saloma Yahia Musa said the visit aims to assess the humanitarian situation and needs of the local community besides inspecting the development projects funded by the USAID.

He told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) Sunday that the delegation is comprised of 14 members from the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, USAID and the local administration, stressing the security situation in the region is stable and calm.

Ownership of Abyei, a disputed oil-producing region contested by Sudan and South Sudan, remained contentious even after the world’s youngest nation split from Sudan in 2011.

There is no joint administration between Sudan and South Sudan, as the Ngok Dinka refuse the formation of Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC). Instead, they call to hold a referendum without the Sudanese pastoralist Misseriya.

Now there are two committees one for the Misseriya appointed by the Sudanese government and another for the Ngok Dinka appointed by Juba government.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) provides that the contested territory remains part of the north until the organisation of a referendum determine its fate.

The difference over who will participate in the referendum prevents the two countries from holding the agreed referendum.

However, the Dinka Ngok organised a unilateral referendum from 27to 29 October 2013 to say they want to join the Republic of South Sudan.

Khartoum, Juba, the African Union and the international community refused to recognise the outcome of the vote.

(ST)