The African Union or AU called for an urgent presidential summit between the leaders from Sudan and South Sudan to agree on the final status for the Abyei region after a tribal leader and a peacekeeper were killed in the area.
On Saturday, Ngok Dinka paramount chief Kuol Deng Kuol was killed by Misseriya nomads while visiting the North of Abyei.The AU Peace and Security Council met on Tuesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss the latest developments in Abyei.
The Union issued a statement on Thursday urging Presidents Salva Kiir Mayardit and Omar Al Bashir “to meet immediately in order to address the impasse blocking the full implementation of the Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of Abyei Area.”
The AU expressed concern that the various communities living in Abyei are heavily armed and called for both Governments to ensure that area is effectively demilitarized, including through disarmament programmes.