Recent Killing in Abyei: Its Implications on the Relations between the two Sudans
Organization: The Sudd Institute
Type: Policy Briefs
Date: 04/06/2013
Publication Summary
The shocking news of the killing of Abyei’s Paramount Chief, Kuol Deng Kuol in cold blood on Saturday, May 4, 2013 allegedly by the Misseirya militiamen confirms the daunting challenge that faces the normalization of relations between South Sudan and Sudan. The fact that this heinous and despicable crime happened only three weeks after Bashir’s visit to South Sudan and in less than two months after the two countries adopted implementation modalities for the signed cooperation agreements in March this year – an exercise that was largely hailed as an important step towards the normalization of relations between the two countries, speaks volumes. Unfortunately, this incident serves as yet another glaring reminder that despite the best efforts exerted thus far, the two countries are indeed, still locked in an intractable conflict over the highly contested border area of Abyei. For nearly six months after Juba and Khartoum signed the Cooperation Agreements in September last year in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the two sides were practically deadlocked over the implementation of the very agreements they initialed.