Sudan-South Sudan border crossings remain closed

Border crossings between Sudan and South Sudan are still closed, despite recent statements by the Sudanese government about the opening of the crossings.

Citizens in the border town of Abyei, a region which is disputed by the two countries, told Radio Dabanga that the commercial crossings on the border are still closed and have not yet been opened.

They pointed out that the closure of crossings and the collapse of the South Sudanese currency have contributed to the worsening economic conditions in the region. A resident of Abyei pointed out that they are dependent on goods coming from Khartoum and Juba.

In 2017, people in Sudan’s West Kordofan and South Sudan reported that border crossings there were not opened yet, despite the two countries agreeing to activate the joint security arrangements, and to re-open four of the ten border crossings.

At the level of security, residents pointed to the relative stability in the region following the signing of agreements between the Dinka and the Misseriya tribes on the resolution of settlements and the crossing of pastoralists across the border between the two countries.

Abyei is the traditional homeland of the Ngok Dinka, a tribal group with strong ethnic, cultural, and linguistic ties to the Dinka of South Sudan. Misseriya herders, members of a northern nomadic Arab tribe, seasonally traverse Abyei and other north-south border areas with their cattle in search of pasture in the dry season and to trade goods.

Abyei’s rich oil reserves make the region economically desirable to both Sudan and South Sudan. The area is still contested. Resolving the status of the area is one of the essential steps the two countries need to take to ensure long-term peace in the region.