UN Extends Peacekeeping Mandate in Sudan’s Abyei for Another Year

Nov 15, 2025
International

Photo: Contested Abyei region (Collected, Al Jazeera)

International Desk | PNN

The United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in the oil-rich and long-contested region between Sudan and South Sudan for another year. In the vote held on Friday (15 November), 12 members voted in favor, while Russia, China, and Pakistan abstained.

According to the new decision, the mission will continue until November 2026. However, the council noted that extending the mandate further could become risky if progress is not made in halting bloody conflicts.

The United States proposed the draft resolution in the Security Council. The proposal emphasized the need for “reasonable and realistic criteria” for continuing the mission, to be measured by tangible progress by Sudan and South Sudan.

The resolution makes it clear that for the next renewal, pressure will be applied on both countries to establish a joint police force and fully demilitarize the Abyei region, commitments they agreed to in 2011 during South Sudan’s independence.

Currently, UNISFA’s 4,000-strong police and military personnel are responsible for protecting local civilians, controlling conflicts, and maintaining humanitarian assistance.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been asked to submit a full report on progress in the region by August 2026. The Security Council will then decide whether to reduce the mission’s scope.

U.S. representative Dorothy Shea said, “These criteria will help measure the mission’s effectiveness and hold both governments accountable.”

Although small, the peacekeeping mission in Abyei operates in a highly politically sensitive area. Frequent clashes, thousands of displaced people, and unsafe roads have complicated humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, Sudan is still engulfed in a brutal civil war that began in April 2023 as a power struggle between two military factions.

Amid this instability, Sudan’s notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accused of atrocities in Darfur and other regions, are also active in Abyei.