UNSC extends mandate of Abyei peacekeepers until 2014

November 25 (2013) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday extended the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Abyei, six months after increasing its military strength to 5,326 forces as requested by Sudan and South Sudan.

The 15-member Council, in a unanimous vote, extended the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) mandate in the region until the end of May next year.

UNISFA was established by the UNSC in June 2011 after Sudanese troops took control of the disputed oil-producing region, displacing tens of thousands of people prior to South Sudan’s independence a month later.

The mandate of the peacekeeping force, mainly comprising of Ethiopians, is to oversee the demilitarisation of the area and maintain security.

The Council, in a statement, said both Sudan and South Sudan should immediately resume the work of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee to ensure steady progress on the implementation of the June 2011 Agreement, which provides for temporary administrative arrangements for Abyei and the withdrawal of troops by both sides.

“(..) The two Governments to take all necessary steps to ensure that Abyei is effectively demilitarized, and to implement confidence-building measures among the respective communities in the area, including through reconciliation processes”, partly reads the statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

The Council members strongly urged all Abyei communities to exercise maximum restraint in all their engagements and desist from inflammatory acts or statements that may lead to violent clashes, or any further unilateral activities.

Abyei was meant to hold it referendum simultaneously with that of South Sudan in January 2011, but both Juba and Khartoum failed to agree on eligibility of the voters.

Till now, the final status of Abyei remains one of the outstanding issues to be resolved after the two ex-foes ended nearly a decade of a bloody civil war.

Last month, the Dinka Ngok of Abyei held a unilateral and unofficial referendum in which 99% of residents overwhelmingly voted to rejoin South Sudan after 108 years in Sudan where they were transferred to by the British colonial administration in 1905.

(ST)