African Union or AU expresses concerns about recent incidents in Abyei, calling for restraint and early convening of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee or AJOC.
In a statement, AU Commission Chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma pointed out that the killings; abductions and cattle raiding in various villages over the past weeks are worrying.
She encouraged AJOC to seize the opportunity of its planned convention to agree on the immediate commencement of the inter-communal dialogue.
The AU Commission Chairperson urged Abyei communities to exercise utmost restraint and desist from any action likely to heighten tension in the area.
Dr Zuma appealed to Sudan and South Sudan governments to make renewed efforts to the early establishment of the Abyei Police Service and administrative bodies agreed to within the framework of the “Temporary Arrangements on the Administration and Security of Abyei” of June 20, 2011.
She reiterated AU’s full support to the United Nations Interim Security Force for the Abyei Area or UNISFA in its continued efforts to maintain stability.