Security Council weighs Abyei mission renewal as UN warns of Sudan conflict spillover

The United Nations Security Council discussed renewing its peacekeeping mission in Abyei on 5 November, ahead of the mandate's expiry on 15 November, according to UN meeting coverage. Officials warned that violence and spillover from Sudan's conflict were complicating the mission's work in the disputed border area.

The Council created the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei, or UNISFA, in June 2011 after violence in the resource-rich territory, which both Sudan and South Sudan claim.

The United States' representative sought tighter benchmarks for assessing the parties and the UN, alongside deployment of the first formed police unit and appointment of a civilian Deputy Head of Mission.

Russia supported an extension but said closing or reducing the mission would be premature, and requested changes to the US draft resolution. China backed renewal with adjustments reflecting political developments and conditions on the ground. The United Kingdom described UNISFA as essential to Abyei's stability.

Briefing the Council on recent violence, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said clashes on 15 September in and around Amiet Common Market killed 124 people and injured 40. He said members of the Ngok Dinka, Misseriya and Nuba communities were involved, and that UNISFA reinforced its deployments in response.

Lacroix warned that drone attacks on 19 October had added a new threat. Guang Cong, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, linked those attacks at Amiet market to Sudan's conflict and urged Sudan and South Sudan to respect Abyei's demilitarised status.

South Sudan's representative called for an impartial investigation led by the UN into the drone attack at the market.

Lacroix also warned about reports that the Rapid Support Forces had appointed a representative to the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee. He said such an appointment risked producing rival claims to authority and representation.

Sudan's delegate expressed concern about South Sudan People's Defence Forces in the south and Rapid Support Forces elements in the north. South Sudan's representative disputed describing its troops south of the River Kiir as an unauthorized military presence in Abyei, saying their limited deployment helped stabilise the area and protect civilians.