Abyei is a Sudanese territory, Ghandour says

January 3, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – In response to statements by the South Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor, his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour said that the disputed Abyei area belongs to Sudan.

During a visit to Khartoum during the week end Alor who is a son of Abyei told Al-Jareeda that Abyei belongs to South Sudan.

“Abyei is a Sudanese territory and the issue is resolved by the decisions of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the African Union,” Ghandour said in statements to the press at the National Assembly in Omdurman.

He further pointed to the protocol of Abyei in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which paved the way for the South Sudan independence.

The CPA provides that the contested territory remains part of the north until the organization of a referendum determine its fate.

The difference over who will participate in the referendum prevents the two countries from holding the agreed referendum.

However, the Dinka Ngok organized a three-day unilateral referendum from 27-29 October 2013 to say they want to join the Republic of South Sudan.

Khartoum, Juba, the African Union and the international community refused to recognize the outcome of the vote.

During the electoral campaign for the presidential election in March 2015, the candidate of the ruling National Congress Party (President Omer al-Bashir told a rally in Al-Foula, capital of West Kordofan State that Abyei area belongs to Sudan and will remain a Sudanese territory.

(ST)