*Army says it has withdrawn from South Sudan border zone/ EIU 04.07.16* Event
In late June the Sudanese army announced that it had completed the redeployment of troops from the demilitarised border zone with South Sudan. Analysis Implementing commitments regarding the 2,100‑km border between Sudan and South Sudan has been a protracted business. Both governments have many other domestic security priorities, and each believes that the other has deliberately been allowing rebel groups to criss-cross the border, exploiting opportunities for shelter. The high-level agreements signed by the two countries in 2012 included basic agreements about the border, but since then it has been the task of various joint committees to flesh out the details and the arrangements for implementation. Earlier in June a joint committee signed a set of agreements for operationalising commitments concerning the border, including the creation of a demilitarised buffer zone (extending 10 km on either side of the border), ten main crossing points and three consulates in the border zone. These agreements should now lead to the overdue activation of the "Joint Border Monitoring and Verification Mechanism". In principle, it should be possible for the two governments to adopt such measures, and to try to make good on their overall pledge to make the border a "soft" frontier, allowing easy commerce and movement of civilians. Encouragingly, neither government is currently demanding that the status of disputed areas such as Abyei and the "14 mile strip" be resolved: in the past, insistence on resolution of these areas has only led to violence. That said, neither government has sounded particularly serious about stopping rebel groups exploiting the border. Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping force known as the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) continues with the task of supporting efforts to demilitarise and prevent conflict in the border zone. However, with only 4,500 personnel deployed, UNISFA can do little more than monitor the overall situation and intermittently patrol hotspots such as the disputed Abyei border area. Impact on the forecast We maintain our existing forecast that the management of the border will continue to cause occasional tensions between the two governments. -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14op1Cm0JtXCeEsFBsF0_BfffwPjVHaEzWKK7AXRpsEqKaQ%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
