Juba, Khartoum asked to discuss Abyei status

The UN Security Council has called on Sudan and South Sudan to immediately resume negotiations on the final status of the disputed area of Abyei.

It says the area constitutes a serious threat to international order.

The associated Press reported, on Tuesday, that the 15-member council voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the peacekeeping force-UNISFA in the Abyei for one more year.

The peacekeepers are charged with taking necessary action to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence regardless of the source. S

The resolution extending the peacekeepers’ mandate stressed that future status of Abyei shall be resolved peacefully, through negotiations but not through unilateral actions by either party.

Under the Comprehensive Peace agreement signed in Nairobi Kenya in 2005, the Abyei inhabitants would in a referendum decide which country to belong.

Apparently, Abyei is under the Sudan, administratively.