Ethiopian forces to be withdrawn from Abyei within three months

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi held on Monday evening a virtual meeting with UN Secretary General- Special Envoy for the  Horn of Africa,  Parfait Onanga-Anyanga  in the presence  of Undersecretary of  UN Secretary General  for  Peacekeeping Forces Jean-Pierre Lacroix, and the Undersecretary of UN Secretary General  for Operational support.

The meeting discussed development of situations at Abyei Area and UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

The attendees to the meeting reached an agreement for withdrawal of Ethiopian components from UNISFA within three months upon a request from Sudan.

UN Secretary General’s Envoy on his part hailed the role played by Sudan Government on realization of peace in South Sudan State.

Hon. Parfait pointed to the recent visit paid by Prime Minister Dr. Abdullah Hamdouk, accompanied by some senior officials of his government to Juba, in order to enhance cooperation between the two sisterly countries.

Moreover, Parfait affirmed UN support to Sudan’s  efforts in its capacity as IGAD’s Chairmanship to maintain stability in the Horn of Africa.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed UN response and its understanding to Sudan’s request for replacement of Ethiopian forces by forces from other countries to contribute in peacekeeping process at Abyei.

Dr. Mariam promised to facilitate the exit of Ethiopian forces and the reception of other troops.

In addition, Dr. Marian pledged to remove all impediments that faced the Joint Mechanism of Verification and Observation of Borders between Sudan and South Sudan.