The head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and the UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, on Sunday, discussed the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNIFSA) and the situation in the Abyei area.
The meeting between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Parfait Onanga-Anyanga come as Khartoum and Juba voiced readiness to reach an agreement over the stalled process of Abyei future within the framework of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that led to the independence of South Sudan.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Onanga-Anyanga said he discussed the UNISFA with the al-Burhan and the regional leaders. He further said the head of the Sovereign council expressed appreciation for the mission’s role in the border area.
He added said that al-Burhan renewed his commitment to ensuring that the Abyei’s status will be peacefully resolved within the improving relations between the two countries.
Officials from the two countries held a series of meeting about Abyei but they did not yet take any tangible measure to resolve heir difference over the participation of Misseriya herders in the referendum on self-determination.
Also, the international community is pressing on the two sides to take advantage of the warming relations and to find a compromise on the security situation there, in a way that the protection of civilians does not require an international force.
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations said in October 2020 that the two Sudanese parties either reach a final agreement on the future of the disputed region or “the parties themselves develop joint security and administrative mechanisms on their own”.
Following the deterioration of the relations with Ethiopia, Sudan said seriously considering the termination of UNISFA which is exclusively formed from Ethiopian troops.
The Sudanese foreign minister was last week in Juab where she met with President Salva Kiir. It is not clear if the matter was discussed by the parties.
Source: Sudan Tribune
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