Khartoum Revives Abyei File, Forms Negotiating Team for Talks with Juba
President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC), General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman, has issued a sovereign decision establishing a national negotiating team to address the Abyei issue with the Republic of South Sudan.
The decision is based on the provisions of the 2019 Constitutional Document, as amended in 2025, Article 18(1) of the 2019 Regulations Governing the Work of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, and the outcomes of TSC Meeting No. 5 of 2026.
According to Abyei Now newspaper, the decision provides for the formation of the national negotiating team on Abyei, chaired by TSC Member Abdullah Yahya Ahmed, with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ambassador Mohi-Eddin Salem as deputy chair, and Dr. Suleiman Al-Debeilo, head of the Peace Commission, as a member.
The team also includes the head of the Borders Commission; the head of the Abyei Area Supervisory Committee on the Sudanese side; representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defence, Military Intelligence, the Police Forces and the General Intelligence Service; Major General (retired) Abdulrahman Arbab Mursal; Salman Suleiman Al-Safi; and a representative of the Ngok Dinka community of Abyei.
The decision outlines the team’s principal tasks and responsibilities, including coordinating and communicating with the African Union and the United Nations on the Abyei issue; managing multilateral negotiations while preparing for all anticipated scenarios; and conducting bilateral meetings and negotiations with the relevant joint mechanisms.
The team is also tasked with establishing an up-to-date database on Abyei to support dialogue on the area’s final status, while taking the necessary precautionary measures to safeguard Sudan’s national rights concerning the issue.
The decision authorises the team to seek assistance from any persons it deems appropriate to help carry out its duties, access documents and records related to its work, and determine its headquarters and secretariat arrangements.
It also requires the team to submit periodic reports on the progress of negotiations, as well as a comprehensive report upon completion of the negotiating process.