UN Security Council extends mandate of peacekeeping mission in Sudan

UN Security Council extends mandate of peacekeeping mission in Sudan

2011-04-28 00:34:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday extended the mandate of the peacekeeping mission in Sudan until the south formally becomes independent.

The 15 members of the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) until July 9, the date when Southern Sudan will become an independent State as decided in the January referendum.

UNMIS was set up after the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended the long north-south civil war in Sudan. Millions of Southern Sudan residents voted in January in favor of separating from the rest of the African nation.

In addition, the UN Security Council announced that after July, a successor mission to UNMIS will be set up. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will present on May 16 a report indicating the post-independence options for the UN presence.

In recent weeks, disputes between the north and south have caused violence and tensions ahead of the planned independence, mainly over border demarcation and the status of the conflicted Abyei area.

Hundreds of people have been reportedly killed in clashes in various states of the south, often involving Southern Sudanese forces and renegade militia groups. Last Sunday, at least 57 people were killed in fighting between the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and a rebel militia.

UNMIS currently has more than 10,000 peacekeepers deployed in the troubled African country, as well as more than 4,000 local and international civilian staff and volunteers.

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