Sudan and South Sudan agree to secure border, maintain status quo in Abyei

August 13, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan and South Sudan agreed to bolster border security and refrain from taking unilateral actions in the disputed Abyei region following high-level defence meetings in Juba this week.

The talks marked the first gathering of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism, co-chaired by the defence ministers of both nations, since meetings were halted following the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023.

Sudanese Defence Minister Hassan Daoud Kabron said the delegations, which included intelligence, diplomatic, and police officials, reviewed previous security accords to resolve outstanding border disputes.

The two neighbours share a nearly 1,800 km (1,100 miles) border that remains undemarcated in key strategic zones, including Abyei, Hofra En Nahas, and Jebel al-Meqinis.

Both sides agreed to prevent cross-border infiltrations, ban armed groups from using their territories as safe havens, and protect oil pipelines that transport South Sudanese crude to export terminals in Port Sudan.

The delegations also reached understandings aimed at curbing the involvement of South Sudanese mercenaries fighting alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.

Under the agreement, both countries committed to activating the Abyei Protocol, establishing a joint civilian administration, and maintaining the existing status quo in the oil-rich border region.

Tensions over Abyei escalated on July 13 when Khartoum rejected a decision by South Sudan’s electoral commission to include the territory in South Sudan’s upcoming general elections scheduled for December 22.

In parallel talks in Juba, Darfur Region Governor Minni Arko Minawi met with Tut Kew Gatluak, security adviser to South Sudan’s president, to discuss border stability and the protection of Sudanese refugees displaced by the ongoing conflict.