Sudan, South Sudan border commission to approve border demarcation report

December 9, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The Joint Border Commission (JBC) between Sudan and South Sudan on Sunday is expected to approve the final report of the Joint Technical Committee for Border Demarcation (JTCB).

During its meeting in Addis Ababa on 7 December, the JTCB developed a detailed report showing the agreed and contested points of the three sectors along the borderline as well as the precise coordinates of all border points.

According to Ashorooq TV, the JTCB report is expected to be presented to the JBC on Sunday for approval.

It is noteworthy that the Sudanese side was headed by the Co-chair of the JBC Abdallah al-Sadiq while the South Sudanese team was headed by the JBC Co-chair, Darius Garang.

Claimed and disputed areas of the Sudan and South Sudan border include Abyei, 14-Mile area, Joudat Al-Fakhar, Jebel al-Migainais, Kaka, and Kafia Kingi enclave (Hofrat al-Nahas).

Since South Sudan’s independence, the agreed border between the two countries is not yet demarcated (marked on the ground). Also, talks between the two sides continue to delimit the remaining 20% disputed boundary.

In September 2012, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, border trade among others.

In March 2013, the two countries signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements. However, the execution of the agreements didn’t go according to the plan.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan on July 9th, 2011 following a referendum on whether the semi-autonomous region should remain a part of the country or become independent. 99% of the southern voters chose independence.

Relations between the two nations soured after South Sudan’s independence following a series of disputes over a number of issues.

(ST)