Ethiopian Review

KHARTOUM — The UN envoy for Sudan, urged today the Sudan People’s Liberation Army to(SPLA) to withdraw soldiers deployed recently in the contested Abyei area saying this move could lead to military escalation, ahead of the next week ruling.

The National Congress Party and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement agreed in a roadmap signed on June 8, 2008 to redeploy the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and SPLA from Abyei and only to be present in the area a newly formed Joint Integrated Units and Joint Integrated Police Units (JIPU).

“Over the past weeks, we have received several reports and confirmations of the presence of SPLA soldiers and elements of the Southern Sudan Police Service in the area, especially in and around Agok,” said Ashraf Qazi, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan on Saturday.

Qazi further stressed that this SPLA military presence “is a clear violation of the Abyei Roadmap Agreement and could lead to escalation and violence if it remained unchecked.”

The UN envoy requested the southern Sudan army to immediately pull out its troops from the area, adding that the international community was closely monitoring the situation in and around Abyei “and expected all sides to behave in the most responsible manner in order to avoid violence.”

As Abyei Arbitration Tribunal announced it would render its ruling on Abyei issue on July 22, high level delegations from the two peace partners, NCP and SPLM and the head of the UNMIS as well as the US envoy to Sudan would be in the contested area.

Also the two main partners of national unity government agreed this week to increase the number UNMIS peacekeepers that should have free movement and access to the north and south of Abyei area to carry out its mandate as it was agreed in Abyei road map.

However, Qazi emphasized the need for UNMIS to have full freedom of movement in the broader Abyei area and its vicinity including parts of Diffra which are located within the Abyei Roadmap area.

“The restrictions on our freedom of movement, particularly at this sensitive juncture, impede the Mission from discharging its mandate effectively,” he said.

In a report to the UN Security Council on July 14, the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said that the movement of UNMIS peacekeepers is restricted in the Akur area, south-west of Agok, where SPLA denied access claiming that Akur was part of Bahr el Ghazal State. He told the Council that this restriction “affects the ability of UNMIS to take timely action to prevent any escalation.”

Qazi also said alarmed by continuing reports of the presence of forces and commanders — in and around the area — who were known to have been involved in the Abyei bloody fighting in May 2008 between SAF and SPLA.

“Their presence, if confirmed, could be particularly destructive. The Abyei Roadmap Agreement requires that all armed elements from both sides not only stay out of the Roadmap area but also redeploy further a field. Security in the area is to be provided only by JIU and JIPU as they are the only mandated security bodies,” said the UN envoy.

- ST