UNITED NATIONS, April 13 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Security Council on Friday decided to extend the mandate modification for the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) till Oct 15, 2019.
Resolution 2465, which won unanimous support in the 15-member council, further decides that this shall be the final extension unless Sudan and South Sudan, which are contesting the territory of Abyei, “demonstrate measurable progress on border demarcation.”
The Security Council first modified the UNISFA mandate in December 2011 to add tasks of supporting a Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism of Sudan and South Sudan, which gained independence from the former in July 2011.
Resolution 2465 decides that the authorized troop ceiling for UNISFA shall drop by 557 troops, unless it decides to extend the mandate modification again.
UNISFA was set up by the Security Council in June 2011 after a flare-up shortly before South Sudan’s independence. — NNN-XINHUA