United Nations Radio

The Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN mission in Sudan through the end of April next year.

The Council said the mission, known as UNMIS, had been supportive of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 by the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. In his latest report on Sudan, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that while the parties deserve credit for striving to overcome their tensions and problems through dialogue, recent clashes in the Abyei area, an oil-rich region disputed by the two sides, were a potential threat to the agreement.

In extending the mandate of the Mission, the Council urged the parties to address and find a mutually agreeable solution to the Abyei issue, and urged them to redeploy their forces away from the disputed border. Resolution of the Abyei issue is just one of many that must be overcome if the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is to be fully implemented. Other issues, the report says, include border demarcation, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants, and preparations for the current national census and next year's elections.

Diane Bailey, United Nations Radio.

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