| September 15, 2011 – Sudan and South Sudan forces will pull out from the disputed oil-rich Abyei region to honor a newly brokered agreement between both sides. The United Nations has confirmed the news of the agreement, which would surely help defuse tension along the border.
Tempers had been running high along the border since the independence of South Sudan, which broke off from North Sudan on July 9, 2011 to respect a January referendum that took place in accordance with a 2005 peace deal between both sides.
Confirming the news of the newly brokered deal in Addis Ababa after briefing the UN Security Council, Edmond Mulet, UN assistant peacekeeping chief, said that the two sides would pull out their forces from Abyei between September 11 and 30. He added that North Sudan had earlier committed to withdrawing its troops only if an administration was set up in Abyei; however, it has now dropped that condition.
Abyei has been the bone of contention between both sides, with each staking its claim on the oil-rich territory. However, the fate of Abyei continues to remain undecided, as no referendum has yet taken place to determine who will hold the disputed territory. Besides Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile are other trouble spots between both sides and fighting has been taking place intermittently. The territories are still home to tens of thousands of people from ethnic groups that sided with the south during the civil war that preceded the south’s independence.
Before the signing of this agreement, Sudan and South Sudan had agreed to pull out from Abyei; however, neither side followed suit. The crisis began in May when North Sudan forces secretly occupied Abyei, triggering bloody violence and forcing over 100,000 people to flee from the region to South Sudan, which prompted the UN peacekeeping force led by Ethiopia to deploy peacekeepers in Abyei to demilitarize the region. More than 1,700 Ethiopian peacekeepers have been deployed in the region since last month.
If both sides respect Thursday’s agreement, it would ease the task of the UN peacekeepers in the region.
Situation in Sudan
Despite South Sudan’s joining the comity of nations as its newest member, peace with North Sudan remains uneasy due to demographic political, ethnic, and religious factors. Though oil is the bone of contention between the nations, the Arab chauvinism among the rulers in Khartoum always views domination of south as a necessary political measure. The Muslim-dominated north and Christian south are divided on the basis of religious feelings, which is also the core of their nationhood.
With a large number of oil wells and agriculture land lying in the zone of conflict, both sides view the disputed areas as a core to their national economic progress. This is the key reason for the simmering conflict that often erupts into military confrontation. It is always an uneasy situation for the peacekeeping forces stationed in Sudan, as they are never looked favorably by both the regime and local rebels. The peacekeepers have a mandate to maintain peace in the region; however, the human catastrophe due to drought and war for decades has added to their mandated tasks and humanitarian duties. |
