Sunday, May 13, 2012

United Nations Secretary General Calls on Sudan to Withdraw Forces From Abyei

Ban Ki-moon calls on Sudan to withdraw forces from Abyei area

Sun May 13, 2012 11:43AM GMT
presstv.ir

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on Sudan to pull out its troops from disputed area of Abyei following the withdrawal of South Sudan forces from the territory.

"The secretary general welcomes the withdrawal of the South Sudan Police Service from the Abyei area. He strongly urges the government of Sudan to also remove its forces from the area," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said in a statement.

Ban urged the two states to act in accordance with a UN Security Council deadline to start negotiations and resolve all disputes.

Ban "urges the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to resume negotiations under the auspices of the African Union High-Level Panel to resolve the outstanding issues between them," said the spokesman.

He also called on both countries to establish the Abyei Area Administration, which is part of an agreement both states signed last June.

The UNSC unanimously approved a resolution on May 2, which calls on Khartoum and Juba to “immediately cease all hostilities" by giving a written commitment to end fighting in 48 hours, and to resume negotiations within two weeks under an African Union (AU) roadmap to ultimately reach an agreement in the course of three months.

According to the resolution, if either side fails to abide by the terms, “additional measures" under Article 41 of the UN Charter, which obligates non-military sanctions, will be taken.

Heglig, located in southern Sudan, is internationally regarded as part of Sudan, but South Sudan disputes.

Juba’s troops occupied Heglig on April 10. Ten days later, Khartoum announced that the Sudanese Army had forced Southern Sudanese troops out of the town.

Sudan also accuses the South, which seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011 after decades of conflict with the north, of supporting anti-government rebels operating in the Darfur region and the southern states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

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