The United States on Wednesday threatened to oppose the renewal of a UN peacekeeping mission to Abyei, a disputed region between war-torn Sudan and South Sudan unless both sides uphold the terms of a 2011 peace deal.
At a UN Security Council meeting, the US ambassador laid out Washington’s conditions for extending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) which expires on November 15.
“We recognize Sudan and South Sudan are facing historic and significant internal challenges and instability. It does not absolve authorities of their responsibility to implement their key commitments under the 2011 peace agreement, “said US Ambassador Mike Waltz.
He added that “Sudan and South Sudan must now uphold their commitment to the 2011 peace agreement and UNISFA’s mandate to secure the United States’ support of this renewal.”
To maintain Washington’s backing for an extended UNISFA mission, Waltz said the two countries must ensure Abyei remains a demilitarized zone, establish temporary administrative and security arrangements including a joint Abyei police force and work toward determining the region’s final status.
Abyei’s political status has remained unresolved since South Sudan gained independence in 2011. The oil-rich border region has been a persistent flashpoint with frequent clashes between rival groups and the presence of several thousand UN peacekeepers deployed under UNISFA’s mandate.
Sudan meanwhile remains gripped by a brutal civil war pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since 2023. UN officials have expressed alarm over both South Sudanese troops and RSF paramilitaries operating within Abyei, undermining its demilitarized status.
“The people of Abyei have been waiting 14 years for the establishment of the temporary administrative and security arrangements including the Joint Abyei police service and a determination of Abyei’s final status,” Waltz said.
The continued inaction of both Khartoum and Juba and what Waltz described as the “deliberate undermining” of the peace agreement “raises serious doubts for the United States about continuing its support for UNISFA’s mandate unless Sudan and South Sudan demonstrate immediate and tangible progress.”
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, the United States has taken a tougher stance toward the United Nations, cutting its contributions to the UN peacekeeping budget and using its Security Council veto power to reshape or terminate missions.
In recent months Washington has successfully pressed the Council to set an end date for the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon in 2027 and to restrict the mandate of the UN’s political mission in Colombia.
