UN Interim Security Force for Abyei: Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow morning (7 May), the Security Council will receive a briefing on the Secretary-General’s most recent report (S/2026/378) on the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), which covers the period from 2 October 2025 to 15 April. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa Guang Cong are expected to brief. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
The security and political situations in Abyei are expected to be a key focus of tomorrow’s meeting. According to the Secretary-General’s report, the conflict in Sudan and political and security developments in South Sudan have shaped the political environment in Abyei. Occupied by their own internal difficulties, the parties have struggled to engage in a meaningful way, as reflected by their limited progress in reactivating agreed bilateral mechanisms, such as the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) and the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC). (The JPSM is a body employed by Sudan and South Sudan to discuss security matters of mutual concern, while the AJOC is tasked with providing administrative and political oversight of Abyei and is co-chaired by a Sudanese official and a South Sudanese official.) Support for the JPSM and AJOC has been constrained by Sudan’s suspension from the AU and challenges facing the AU High-Level Implementation Panel. Against this difficult backdrop, UNISFA has continued to engage with the parties. (For background and more information, see the brief on Sudan/South Sudan in our May 2026 Monthly Forecast.)
The continuing conflict in Sudan has hindered the participation of the Misseriya in the work of the Joint Community Peace Committee. Nevertheless, on 2 April, the Committee facilitated a meeting in Todach during which representatives of the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka communities signed a declaration of intent meant to enhance efforts to curtail the proliferation of unauthorised and illegal weapons in Abyei, particularly in the Amiet market area.
Tomorrow, Cong may describe his engagement with the regional stakeholders, including the AU and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as well as with interlocutors from South Sudan and Sudan. He may also provide details of his recent visit to Abyei from 27 to 29 April, during which he held consultations with Ngok Dinka and Misseriya community leaders, civil society representatives, and local authorities. During these engagements, Cong called for accelerated progress in achieving concrete results on key benchmarks established by the Council in resolution 2802 of 14 November 2025, which extended UNISFA’s mandate for one year. He further stressed the need for continued dialogue on Abyei and sustained engagement to insulate the area from the spillover of regional conflicts.
The security situation across the mission’s area of operations continued to be volatile, with recurrent outbreaks of violence. According to the Secretary-General’s report, UNISFA recorded 196 security incidents between October 2025 and March, resulting in 58 deaths and 69 injuries, the majority of which occurred in Sector North. The report noted that the prevailing threat environment remained shaped by a combination of intercommunal violence, the proliferation of illicit weapons, criminality, and activities associated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary group.
Additionally, the report noted that the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and South Sudan National Police Service personnel remain in Abyei, staffing six active checkpoints as at 7 April. UNISFA estimated that approximately 350 personnel remained deployed in the area, equipped with assault rifles, machine guns, and rocket launchers, including weaponry inconsistent with the area’s demilitarised status. The report also documented the RSF’s sustained presence in and around Sector North as a persistent concern, particularly in Goli, Diffra, and Gibdud. During the reporting period, UNISFA recorded 15 incidents involving the RSF, such as armed vehicle convoys and troop movements near civilian protection sites.
Tomorrow, the briefers and several Council members might highlight the operational challenges facing UNISFA and the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM). During the reporting period, UNISFA recorded 51 incidents that affected its operations under the mission’s status-of-forces agreement with Sudan and South Sudan, including 35 attributed to Sudanese actors, 13 to South Sudanese security forces, and three to other parties. Meanwhile, the Juba-appointed administration continued to subject mission movements to ad hoc searches and administrative restrictions, resulting in significant delays to logistics convoys and impeding the mission’s operational privileges and immunities.
On 13 December 2025, a drone attack hit the UN logistics base in Kadugli, South Kordofan state in Sudan, which resulted in the deaths of six peacekeepers and injured nine others. Following these attacks and citing the host state’s inability to guarantee safety, UNISFA relocated all personnel from Kadugli and closed the base on 21 December 2025, ending the UN’s permanent logistics presence in the area. Due to the continued security threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), UNISFA subsequently closed its two remaining JBVMM team sites, handing over Tishwin to local authorities on 6 February and Abu Qussa/Wunkur on 4 March.
At tomorrow’s meeting, the briefers and several Council members are likely to express concern over continued impediments to the mission’s operations and call on the parties to cooperate fully with the mission in the implementation of its mandate. They may stress the importance of ensuring the safety and security of peacekeepers and strengthening accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses. Some members may also emphasise the need to ensure that the mission is adequately equipped to implement its mandate effectively amid a challenging operational environment.
Some members may express concern about the presence of armed actors in Abyei, including the RSF and South Sudanese forces, in violation of the area’s demilitarised status. They may further highlight the risks posed by the proliferation of small arms and illicit weapons in exacerbating intercommunal tensions and undermining the overall security situation. Several members may also note the compounding effects of the conflict in Sudan and the deteriorating conditions in South Sudan on the political, humanitarian, and security situation in Abyei, while underscoring the urgent need to reactivate agreed bilateral mechanisms.
Council members have traditionally agreed on the important roles that UNISFA and the JBVMM play in supporting peace, security, and stability in Abyei and the broader region. However, many members remain critical of the limited progress made by Sudan and South Sudan in resolving the final status of Abyei and other long-standing bilateral issues. During the negotiations on resolution 2802—the most recent UNISFA mandate renewal—the US, the penholder on Abyei, adopted a more critical approach regarding the mission’s future, including through the introduction of benchmarks intended to assess UNISFA’s performance and inform future Council decisions on the mission. Tomorrow, the US and some other members may call on the parties to make progress on these benchmarks and seek updates from the briefers on the status of their implementation. (For background and more information, see our 13 November 2025 What’s in Blue story)
By contrast, the African members of the Council, as well as China and Russia, opposed the idea of conditioning the mission’s renewal on the implementation of benchmarks. In light of the fragile political and security situations in Sudan and South Sudan, these members have expressed reservations about any precipitous drawdown or withdrawal of the mission in the near term. Some may reiterate their view that conditioning UNISFA’s future on such objectives is unrealistic, given that several of the underlying factors affecting implementation remain beyond the mission’s control.
