Sudan’s army says no pullout from Abyei unless deal is fully implemented
October 14, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s army said on Friday it will not withdraw troops from Abyei unless a deal signed with South Sudan on managing the hotly-contested region is fully implemented.
The withdrawal, which is stipulated under an agreement signed between the former war foes on 20 June in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, was supposed to be completed between 11 and 30 September, according to UN officials.
Addis Ababa’s agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area provides for the redeployment of SAF and the southern Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA), recently re-named South Sudan Armed Forces (SSAF), from Abyei immediately after that of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in the region.
UNISFA, which is composed of Ethiopian peacekeepers, has managed to deploy 1,780 troops out of a full force of 4,200.
Colonel Al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad, SAF’s official spokesman, told the pro-government news website the Sudanese Media Center (SMC), that the Sudanese army was willing to withdraw from Abyei on the condition that what was agreed in Addis Ababa is abided by.
SAF’s spokesman noted that Addis Ababa’s deal stipulates that SAF should redeploy out of Abyei following the deployment of UNISFA and the joint military observer committee (JMOC) is established.
Under Addis Ababa deal, the JMOC should be consisted of an equal number of observers from SAF and SSAF and be stationed in Abyei.
According to Sa’ad, SAF had completely finished appointing its members to the JMOC but South Sudan Army is yet to confirm its appointees.
SAF’s spokesman further asserted that no unilateral redeployment would be accepted, adding that withdrawals must be supervised by the joint mechanisms agreed in Addis Ababa deal, including the JMOC and Abyei Area Administration (AAA).
According to the UN, the formation of AAA has been stalled by disagreements on the chairmanship since early July.
Under Addis Ababa agreement, the AAA shall consist of a chief administrator, to be nominated by South Sudan and agreed by Sudan, and a deputy chief administrator, to be nominated by Sudan and agreed by South Sudan, as well as five heads of departments.
The long-standing dispute over Abyei escalated dramatically in May when Sudan’s army invaded the region in response to an attack allegedly carried out by southern forces, two month before South Sudan gained independence from Khartoum.
Abyei’s status was supposed to be determined by a vote that failed to materialize on 9 January 2011 as originally planned under the 2005’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement which ended more than two decades of civil wars between Sudan and South Sudan.
But the plebiscite failed to take place due to disagreements between Sudanese and southern leaders on who can vote, with Khartoum insisting that members of the Arab nomadic tribe of Messiryah be allowed to vote and Juba asserting that only the south-aligned group of Dinka Ngok should be allowed to vote.
The UN warned this month that the failure of Sudan and South Sudan to redeploy out of Abyei threatens a “serious deterioration” in tension considering the onset of the migration season during which Messiryah will traverse what has now become international borders to graze their cattle.
South Sudan, which claims it withdrew troops from Abyei, urged the UN Security Council on 6 October to hold Khartoum accountable for its failure to pull its troops out of Abyei.
(ST)