UN warns of RSF presence in Abyei as Security Council extends peacekeeping mandate

December 8, 2025 (NEW YORK) – The unauthorized presence of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the disputed Abyei region is driving up criminality and insecurity, the United Nations warned, as the Security Council extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in the territory.

A recent update by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) highlighted that RSF elements have established illegal checkpoints and are fueling instability in the northern part of the territory. This comes as the paramilitary group remains a central combatant in the broader war in Sudan.

Compounding the security vacuum, the UN noted that South Sudanese forces have maintained a presence in the south, a violation of Abyei’s demilitarized status that further undermines stability.

The warning accompanied the Security Council’s decision in November to renew UNISFA’s mandate. The mission faces an increasingly complex landscape, with the political process between Sudan and South Sudan paralyzed.

“The political process between the Sudan and South Sudan on Abyei and border issues remains stalled,” said UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee.

Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023, neither government has participated in the Joint Political and Security Mechanism or the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee. Plans to operationalize the Abyei Police Service remain on hold.

Despite the diplomatic freeze, UNISFA has continued to protect civilians and broker local truce agreements. The mission successfully facilitated a peace deal between the Twic and Ngok communities, ending a two-year conflict, and has reduced violence between the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka through the Joint Community Peace Committee.

However, the mission operates under severe constraints. A budgetary crisis facing UN peacekeeping operations has forced UNISFA to reduce personnel, limiting its capacity to patrol and maintain order in the fragile zone.

With the mandate renewed, the UN Security Council urged the international community to provide the political and financial support necessary to sustain the mission.

“UNISFA’s presence and role are more essential than ever in the current context in Abyei,” said the Representative of Guyana following the vote.