Südsudan/Sudan (Abyei)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed South Sudan's decision to withdraw its police force from the disputed area of Abyei , and strongly urged neighbouring Sudan to pull out its police from the area as well, in accordance with the agreement both parties signed in June last year.

South Sudan said on Monday it is completing withdrawal processes of police forces from the contested area of Abyei, apparently in conformity with the United Nations Security Council resolution endorsing roadmap of the Africa Union Peace and Security Commission.

South Sudan informed the United Nations Sunday that it intends to withdraw all its police from the disputed Abyei region, which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, a letter from the UN’s newest member told the world body. The announcement appears to be an attempt to recover from the diplomatic fallout of South Sudan’s occupation of another contested region, Heglig, which borders Abyei.

South Sudan said on Monday it is optimistic that it will sign an agreement, ending a dispute over the contested region of Abyei if the two sides resume discussions with the new spirit of mutual benefit, especially in the upcoming summit scheduled to take place between the two heads of state.

The government of South Sudan is trying to convince Kenya to mediate between Khartoum and Juba regarding the disputed region of Abyei and conflicts in Sudan’s border regions of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, according to media reports.

One year on from the date that the disputed territory of Abyei was due to decide whether it would join South Sudan or remain governed by Khartoum - north of what is now a new international border - Abyei leaders have called for international intervention to resolve the issue.

The Security Council today expanded the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping force for the Abyei area, which is contested by South Sudan and Sudan, to include, among other tasks, assisting the two parties to abide by and implement their agreements on the demilitarization of the area.

The Security Council today deplored the failure by the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to redeploy their troops from the disputed Abyei area and urged the two countries to do so immediately and without preconditions.

Sudan’s army said on Friday it will not withdraw troops from Abyei unless a deal signed with South Sudan on managing the hotly-contested region is fully implemented. On 6 October, the United Nations reported that neither Sudan nor South Sudan have fulfilled their pledges to withdraw their troops from the border region of Abyei, which is claimed by both.

Sudan has pledged to withdraw its army from the contested region of Abyei following the full deployment of UN peacekeepers as South Sudan urged the UN Security Council to give Khartoum an ultimatum on the issue.