UNISFA Withdraws from Two Sites in Abyei Due to Insecurity

The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) announced on Monday its withdrawal from two locations in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan following a security assessment.
This marks the second such withdrawal within a short period. The mission had previously evacuated its logistics base in Kadugli at the end of last year after a drone attack that killed six soldiers and injured nine others from the Bangladeshi contingent.
In a statement, the mission said it had “completed the withdrawal of all peacekeepers and national monitors from the team sites in Chuin and Abu Qussa/Wunkur.”
UNISFA explained that the withdrawal was carried out following an assessment of the increasingly volatile and unpredictable security situation in the two areas. The conditions, it said, significantly constrained force protection measures and the sustainability of the team sites, while also hindering the safe and effective implementation of the mission’s mandate.