South Sudan sets buffer zone withdrawal deadline

South Sudan's military force, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), will complete its withdrawal from the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone (SDBZ), 10 kilometres south of the border with Sudan, on Sunday, spokesperson Colonel Phillip Aguer has confirmed. Speaking to Arabstoday on the telephone from the South Sudanese capital Juba, the military spokesperson said that he hopes for increased trade and cooperation between residents living near the border due to their "historical links." Aguer also explained that an agreement is in place for the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and Sudan, South Sudan's Joint Military Committee (JMC) to begin its work. Their tasks, he said, will be to "verify and oversee the demilitarisation, monitor breaches in border areas and ensure sincerity on both sides in order to proceed with the security arrangements." The new body will convene on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the border region and beyond the Kilo-40 area, after all the Sudanese and South Sudanese forces have been evacuated from the buffer zone. The Head of Joint Technical, Political and Security Committee between Sudan and South Sudan, Lieutenant General Emad Addeen Adawi, told Sudanese state radio that the monitoring mechanisms in the SDBZ "give sovereignty to all parties." He added that the presence of security authorities would "strengthen the implementation mechanisms and support stability." "Political will is a key factor in the implementation of the security arrangements matrix agreed upon by the two countries," Adawi said. Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has held talks with his Special Envoy on Sudan and South Sudan, Haile Menkerios in New York. Menkerios briefed Ki-moon on developments in the implementation of the agreement signed between the two states in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in September 2012, especially in relation to SDBZ and its monitoring mechanisms. The Envoy also told the Secretary-General that the two governments had ordered oil companies to resume their production and transport of oil from South Sudan through to Sudanese territories. Ki-moon welcomed the progress that Sudan and South Sudan had made in realising the terms of their agreement and asserted the international organisation's willingness to provide assistance to both parties. The UN chief also expressed his hope that the positive progress made by the two nations would enhance trust and pave the way for the resolution of other points of dispute.