Secretary-General Welcomes Withdrawal of South Sudan Police from Abyei,

 

Urges Sudanese Government to Also Remove Forces from Area

 

The following statement was issued on 12 May by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

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, in accordance with the 20 June 2011 Agreement, and both Governments to immediately establish the Abyei Area Administration, which is necessary to normalize the situation in the Area.

The Secretary-General 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.  The Secretary-General also calls upon both Governments to activate the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism to help ensure the security of their common border.

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For information media • not an official record