South Sudan says Sudan conflict disrupts joint border monitoring

March 21, 2025 (JUBA) – The ongoing conflict in Sudan has severely hampered joint border monitoring efforts with South Sudan, allowing non-state actors to exploit the porous frontier, a senior South Sudanese military official told Sudan Tribune.

“Before the conflict in Sudan erupted, joint political and security monitoring and verification mechanisms were in place. These were the channels through which information about the activities of any non-state actors was obtained,” explained  General Santino Deng Wol, the former Chief of Defence Forces of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF). “These bodies have now ceased regular meetings due to the situation in Sudan. The only active body now is the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). But it was supposed to provide whatever information it obtained from its activities to these joint mechanisms.”

The general was removed from his position last December, and reassigned as undersecretary in the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs,

Gen. Wol commended the role of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM), a component of UNISFA, which monitors the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone (SDBZ) along the Sudan-South Sudan border. The JBVMM conducts patrols, security monitoring, verification, and investigations.

The JBVMM was established by the United Nations Security Council in 2011 to monitor and verify activities along the border, particularly within the SDBZ.

“There is no problem on our side. We continue participating in the joint border verification and monitoring mechanism,” Gen. Wol stated. “We have representatives in Kadugli, Sudan, and Abyei at the UNISFA headquarters. As you know, the mandate is clear: patrols and security monitoring within the SDBZ, verification and investigation of incidents, and liaison and coordination with relevant authorities. Their mandate is also to report, share, and exchange information.”

The SDBZ, established in September 2012, is a 10-kilometer-wide zone on either side of the border. Due to the war in Sudan and political uncertainty within South Sudan, the absence of both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the SSPDF at the border has created a security vacuum.

Armed dissidents are taking advantage of the conflict in Sudan and political uncertainty in South Sudan and using the safe demilitarized zone as a haven, often crossing international boundaries in violation of international law, he explained. This undermines the stability of both countries and might affect other countries in the future.