A UN mission has largely succeeded in keeping the peace in Abyei, an oil-rich area claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan.
But there has been less progress made on the mission’s work in aiding political mechanisms to determine the final status of Abyei and demilitarise and demarcate the border.
As the UN Security Council debates the mission’s scope, these mechanisms deserve ongoing support.
- ICG
In 2011, Sudan and South Sudan sought outside help to prevent a return to war along what would become their international border.
This effort followed a resurgence of violence in border areas: a new insurgency in South Sudan’s Unity State in April; the Sudanese army’s move into Abyei, an…