Reconciliation meetings between Abyei tribal leaders continue

The Abyei Supreme Committee is continuing its regular reconciliation meetings with the two main tribes of the contested region on the Sudan-South Sudan border.
Chief Administrator of Abyei Administrative Area, Dr Chol Deng Alak told Radio Dabanga that the meetings between the Sudanese Misseriya and South Sudanese Ngok Dinka tribes are continuing to address the outstanding issues between them. The most important issues are the settlement of ‘blood money’, and compensation for stolen property.
Additional committees will be formed after the Eid El Adha holiday, to implement the agreements already signed by the two sides.
Alak said he is convinced that “the understandings reached on the Misseriya and the Dinka leaders level will contribute to solving the big issues about Abyei between the South Sudanese and Sudanese governments”.
The oil-rich Abyei region has been in contention between Sudan and South Sudan since the secession of South Sudan in July 2011. There is no government or police force in the area. Its status has been unresolved after the governments failed to agree on the border division. The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) is entrusted with overseeing demilitarisation and maintaining security.