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)
TT
20

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.



Man Suspected of Killing French Mosque Worshipper Surrenders to Police in Italy

A protestor holds a sign reading "Islamophobia, Muslims in danger" during a gathering in tribute to Aboubakar, the worshipper killed in a mosque at La Grand Combe, and against Islamophobia, at the Place de la Republique in Paris on April 27, 2025. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
A protestor holds a sign reading "Islamophobia, Muslims in danger" during a gathering in tribute to Aboubakar, the worshipper killed in a mosque at La Grand Combe, and against Islamophobia, at the Place de la Republique in Paris on April 27, 2025. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
TT
20

Man Suspected of Killing French Mosque Worshipper Surrenders to Police in Italy

A protestor holds a sign reading "Islamophobia, Muslims in danger" during a gathering in tribute to Aboubakar, the worshipper killed in a mosque at La Grand Combe, and against Islamophobia, at the Place de la Republique in Paris on April 27, 2025. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
A protestor holds a sign reading "Islamophobia, Muslims in danger" during a gathering in tribute to Aboubakar, the worshipper killed in a mosque at La Grand Combe, and against Islamophobia, at the Place de la Republique in Paris on April 27, 2025. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

A man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper in a French mosque has turned himself in to police in Italy, authorities said Monday.
French police began searching for the suspect after the attack Friday in the former mining town of La Grand Combe in southern France. The assailant recorded the attack on his phone, and security camera footage showed him shouting insults at God, local media said.
The French interior minister’s office said Monday that the suspect had surrendered to police in Italy, without elaborating.
Local prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini said Sunday that investigators are taking into account “the possibility that this was an Islamophobic act. It’s the one we’re working on first, but it’s not the only one,” he said.
The suspect is a man born in France in 2004, who lived in the area and did not have a criminal record, The Associated Press quoted the prosecutor as saying.
“Racism and hatred based on religion will never have a place in France,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. “Religious freedom is inviolable.”
The Grand Mosque of Paris condemned the attack in a statement and said the victim, a young man identified only as Aboubakar in French media, had just finished cleaning the mosque when he was killed.
A march was held Sunday at La Grand Combe in support of the victim and a gathering against anti-Islam crimes was held in Paris.