Secretary-General Welcomes Full Withdrawal of Sudan Armed Forces from Abyei

 

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

The Secretary-General welcomes the full withdrawal of the Sudan Armed Forces from the Abyei area yesterday, which has been confirmed by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei.  He calls on the Government of Sudan to withdraw all remaining armed police forces.  He urges the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to immediately establish the Abyei Area Administration to provide the governance needed for civilians in the area to live in peace, as well as the other bodies provided under the 20 June 2011 Agreement on Temporary Security Arrangements for Abyei.

The Secretary-General also welcomes the resumption of post-secession negotiations under the auspices of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel and encourages both Governments to display the leadership necessary to resolve all outstanding issues within the time frame proposed by the African Union Peace and Security Council communiqué of 24 April 2012 and the United Nations Security Council resolution 2046 of 2 May 2012.

The Secretary-General 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