UNSC extends mandate of Abyei peacekeepers, demands pullout of troops

December 23, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The UN Security Council (UNSC) has extended the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Abyei and reiterated demands that Sudan and South Sudan immediately redeploy their remaining forces from the contested region.

In a resolution adopted at the UNSC’s meeting on Thursday, the 15-member council decided to extend for a period of five months the mandate the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) which was established in June after the signing of an agreement between Sudan and South Sudan on temporary arrangements for Abyei.

The deal was signed following the seizure in May of Abyei by Sudanese forces in retaliation to an attack reportedly carried out by southern troops. The clashes displaced tens of thousands in the weeks before South Sudan seceded from Sudan.

The UNSC demanded that Sudan and South Sudan adhere to their commitments under Addis Ababa deal to withdraw all remaining military and police personnel from the Abyei Area “immediately and without preconditions” and urgently finalize the establishment of the Abyei Area Administration and the Abyei Police Service.

Addis Ababa deal stipulates that Sudan and South Sudan withdraw their forces from the region immediately after the deployment of UNISFA which is composed of Ethiopian peacekeepers. UNISFA has deployed 1,780 troops out of a full force of 4,200 but the UN says that neither Sudan nor South Sudan have redeployed their forces.

Sudan says it is committed to the withdrawal of its troops, which occupied Abyei in May in retaliation to an attack reportedly carried out by south Sudanese troops, but stresses that it will only do so if all the provisos of Addis Ababa deal are implemented.

South Sudan, which claims it has pulled out troops from Abyei, has been calling on the UNSC to adopt punitive measures against Khartoum for its failure to withdraw forces.

Hervé Ladsous, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told the Council earlier this month that the security situation in Abyei remains fragile, with both South Sudan and Sudan failing to withdraw their armed forces as agreed in June.

The UNSC also called on the recently separated countries to ensure “free, unhindered and expeditious movement to and from Abyei” and allow humanitarian personnel unfettered access to civilians in need of assistance and all necessary facilities for their operations.

Abyei region remains in dispute between Sudan and South Sudan after a planned vote to determine the status of the area failed to take place due to disagreements between the two countries on who has the right to vote.

(ST)