UN extends Abyei mission due to lack of accord between Sudan, South Sudan

© Albert Gonzalez Farran Ethiopian peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) patrol at night in Abyei town, Abyei state, on December 14, 2016

The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution prolonging until November 15 a peacekeeping mission in Abyei, after Sudan and South Sudan failed to reach an agreement on the disputed oil-rich border region, diplomats said.

Drafted by the United States, the resolution provides for military and police of the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) to be maintained at their current levels of around 4,000, most of them provided by Ethiopia.

In the resolution, the Security Council "reiterates that the Abyei Area shall be demilitarized from any forces, as well as armed elements of the local communities, other than UNISFA and the Abyei police."

It urged "the governments of Sudan and South Sudan and the local communities to take all necessary steps to ensure that Abyei is effectively demilitarized."