UN: Sudan, South Sudan Must Settle Dispute over Oil-Rich Region

A file photo shows UN peackeeping soldiers in oil-rich Abyei. (AFP)
A file photo shows UN peackeeping soldiers in oil-rich Abyei. (AFP)
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UN: Sudan, South Sudan Must Settle Dispute over Oil-Rich Region

A file photo shows UN peackeeping soldiers in oil-rich Abyei. (AFP)
A file photo shows UN peackeeping soldiers in oil-rich Abyei. (AFP)

Sudan and South Sudan must reach an agreement on the disputed, oil-rich border region of Abyei in order for the UN mission there to conclude, according to Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Abyei has been contested since South Sudan gained independence in 2011 and the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) was deployed after deadly clashes that year displaced some 100,000 people.

Charged with coming up with options for ending the peacekeepers’ presence, Guterres said in a recent report to the Security Council it is up to the two countries to decide on the status of the region, AFP reported.

“A longer-term and more sustainable solution in Abyei, resulting in a safe and complete drawdown of UNISFA, would need... good neighborly relations between the Sudan and South Sudan and the parties reaching an agreement on the final status of the Abyei area with the support of the region, the African Union and the United Nations,” the report states.

“I call on all partners to assist both the Sudan and South Sudan to resolve their outstanding issues, particularly to reach a settlement on the final status of Abyei,” Guterres said without suggesting how they might do this.

UNISFA is made up mainly of Ethiopian troops, with some 4,500 soldiers on the ground.

Guterres briefed the council on his talks with the two countries.

South Sudan feels a drawdown of UNISFA could be considered “immediately” but should proceed gradually over a year, Guterres said.

Sudan believes this would allow time for the two countries to establish the mechanisms provided for in a 2011 agreement on temporary administrative and security arrangements in Abyei, he said.

But South Sudan says the departure of the UN mission can be considered only after the final status of the region is decided.

South Sudan insists that security concerns remain in Abyei and in neighboring western Kordofan state that warrant UNISFA’s continued presence, Guterres said.



Large Russian Drone Attack Injures Civilians in Central Ukraine

Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dolynska, in Kirovohrad region, Ukraine, February 18, 2025. Head of Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration Andrii Raikovych via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dolynska, in Kirovohrad region, Ukraine, February 18, 2025. Head of Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration Andrii Raikovych via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
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Large Russian Drone Attack Injures Civilians in Central Ukraine

Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dolynska, in Kirovohrad region, Ukraine, February 18, 2025. Head of Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration Andrii Raikovych via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dolynska, in Kirovohrad region, Ukraine, February 18, 2025. Head of Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration Andrii Raikovych via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS

A large-scale overnight Russian drone attack hit a residential building in the city of Dolynska in central Ukraine, injuring a mother and her two children and forcing evacuations from 38 apartments, a regional official said on Tuesday.
"A difficult night for the Kirovohrad region," Andriy Raikovych, the region's governor, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. "An enemy drone hit a high-rise building in Dolynska."
The mother and one of the children were taken to hospital, said Raikovych, who posted photos of flames bursting out of windows of a high-story apartment building.
The Ukrainian military said on Tuesday that Russia launched 176 drones in a large-scale attack.
Ukraine's air force shot down 103 of the drones and 67 did not reach their targets, probably due to electronic countermeasures, the military said.
According to Reuters, it did not specify what happened to the remaining six drones, but said that Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Cherkasy regions were impacted.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that drone debris fell in one of the districts of the capital, causing a fire at an industrial enterprise.
Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Both Moscow and Kyiv deny targeting civilians in the war, which Russia started with its full-scale invasion on Ukraine nearly three years ago. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
The attack took place as top Russian and US officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia for talks - without the participation of Kyiv or its European allies - on how to end the war in Ukraine.