The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has completed the withdrawal of all peacekeepers and national monitors from its team sites in Tishwin and Abu Qussa/Wunkur, citing a deteriorating and increasingly volatile security environment.
In a statement issued on Friday, UNISFA said the decision followed a thorough assessment that the security situation had become too unpredictable, limiting the mission’s ability to protect personnel and sustain operations at the sites.
The final convoy carrying peacekeepers, national monitors, and equipment arrived safely in Abyei on March 6, marking the end of the withdrawal process.
UNISFA thanked Sudanese and South Sudanese authorities, as well as the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), for their cooperation and support in ensuring the safe movement of the convoy.
The withdrawal from the two team sites of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM) follows the evacuation last year of the mechanism’s logistics base in Kadugli after an attack on Bangladeshi peacekeepers.
The JBVMM monitors the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone (SDBZ), established in 2012 as a buffer zone between Sudan and South Sudan with UNISFA support following tensions over the oil-rich Abyei area claimed by both countries.
UNISFA reaffirmed its continued commitment to promoting peace and stability along the Sudan–South Sudan border and implementing agreements reached by the two governments.
The mission stated that the JBVMM headquarters has been temporarily relocated to Abyei while it monitors the evolving situation and consults on future arrangements to carry out its mandate.
UNISFA emphasized that the safety and security of its peacekeepers remains the highest priority and that it will continue engaging with both governments on the implementation of the JBVMM mandate.
The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) was established by the United Nations Security Council in 2011 to monitor and maintain peace in the disputed Abyei region following South Sudan’s independence and ongoing tensions over the territory.
