SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON ABYEI

NEW YORK, May 7, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The following press statement was issued today by Security Council President Menan Kodjo ( Togo):

The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attack by Misseriya elements on a convoy of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and a delegation of Ngok Dinka on 4 May, which resulted in the death of Ngok Dinka Paramount Chief Kuol Deng Kuol, an Ethiopian peacekeeper, and left three others wounded. They expressed their condolences to the families of those killed in the attack, to the Ngok Dinka community, to the Government of Ethiopia, and to UNISFA.

The members of the Security Council appreciate the prompt actions by President Salva Kiir and President Omar Al-Bashir and other senior leaders of the two Governments, as well as the United Nations Secretary-General and the African Union Commission Chairperson, to calm the situation. They welcomed the Government of Sudan's announcement of an urgent, transparent, thorough, and fair investigation into the incident as well as its pledge to bring the perpetrators to justice. They also welcomed the Government of South Sudan's public statements and its continuing commitment to UNISFA.

The members of the Security Council reiterated their full support for UNISFA and called on all parties in Abyei to exercise maximum restraint, to cooperate fully with the mission, and to use the mechanisms they have put in place to facilitate an effective investigation into these acts of violence. The members of the Security Council underline the critical importance of immediate and full implementation of the agreements reached between Sudan and South Sudan as well as the need for continued hard work by all relevant parties to resolve the details and outstanding issues that remain to be agreed, including the final status of Abyei.