Abyei is a disputed area on the border between Sudan and South Sudan.
Negotiations on the Abyei dispute have been put on hold as a result of the war between Sudan's parties to the conflict that has interrupted positive signs of dialogue between Sudan and neighbouring South Sudan, senior UN officials said in the Security Council today.
The Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, told the delegates: "The conflict in Sudan is very detrimental to the final status negotiations for Abyei. Unfortunately, we have not been able to build on the progress we made at the beginning of this year. ”
"Neither the key leaders of Sudan nor South Sudan have expressed a desire to engage on these issues," Tate added. ”
The Abyei region, rich in oil resources, straddles the borders of Sudan and South Sudan, and is claimed by both sides. In June 2011, just weeks before South Sudan became the world's youngest independent state, the Security Council first authorized the deployment of a peacekeeping force in the region.
Tat noted that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), now controls parts of the border with South Sudan and is gradually approaching Abyei.
Community representatives in Abyei are well aware of the negative impact that the fighting will have on the prospects for the resumption of negotiations. Nevertheless, they expressed the need to keep the issue of Abyei on the agenda of the United Nations and the African Union.
Displacement in Abyei has increased
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, also said in his briefing that the crisis in Sudan has exacerbated the challenges facing the Abyei region, including the influx of civilians fleeing the fighting.
"The UN mission also noted that the situation in Sudan may have exacerbated the flow of weapons in the Abyei area," he told the delegates. ”
Lacroix noted that the conflict has also caused economic hardship for the inhabitants of Abyei, as the flow of basic goods and commodities, many of them from the north, has been cut off.
The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has provided humanitarian assistance to some 220,000 people in the central and southern parts of the region, including those displaced by inter-communal clashes and those fleeing fighting in the Sudan.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Lacroix briefed the Council on 6 November.
The new realities facing the Mission
"The UNISF has had to adjust its deployment routes and supply arrangements in light of the new realities," Lacroix said. ”
He also noted that in the past six months, UNSMA personnel had been attacked three times, resulting in injuries, but the cause was still under investigation.
The fighting in Sudan also poses a challenge to the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism supported by the UNSFA, which is responsible for ensuring peace in the demilitarized zone along the border between Sudan and South Sudan.
Although air patrols were halted due to airspace restrictions, JRM personnel continued to conduct ground monitoring of the border area in situ.
Keep on the challenge
About 200 South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SPDF) and South Sudan National Police (SNP) are stationed in southern Abyei, and about 60 Sudanese police are protecting oil assets in northern Abyei, creating a continuing challenge for UNSFA, Lacroix said.
Lacroix called on the authorities to evacuate them. "These military deployments run counter to the Mission's mandate, as well as the demilitarized and weapon-free status of Abyei, and have also led to restrictions on the freedom of movement of the UNSFA," he said. ”