UNSC condemns attack on peacekeepers in Abyei region
July 21, 2019 (NEW YORK) – Members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have in the strongest terms condemned a recent attack in which unknown assailants killed its peacekeepers in Abyei.
The Security Council members, in a statement, expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to the family of the peacekeeper killed, the Ethiopian government, and the families of civilian victims.
“The members of the Security Council wished a speedy recovery to those injured,” it observed.
Meanwhile, members of the 15-member Council urged the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to swiftly investigate this attack bring the perpetrators to justice, with assistance from UNISFA.
Attack on peacekeepers may constitute war crimes and those responsible for the attack must be held accountable, it stressed.
The UNSC reiterated its full support for UNISFA, calling on the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to provide full support to peacekeepers in the disputed region.
On 27 June 2011, the Security Council, by its resolution 1990, responded to the urgent situation in Abyei by establishing the UNISFA.
UNISFA’s establishment came after Sudan’s government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) reached an agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to demilitarise Abyei and let Ethiopian troops monitor the area.
(ST)