Col. Philip Aguer Panyang, spokesman of the South Sudan Army, announced yesterday the completion of the withdrawal of their forces from the border areas of Jau and Mile 14. He said that withdrawal would be completed in all areas by this Sunday.

“We withdrew from Jau ten kilometres. SPLA also withdrew from Kiir Adem in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal the area, which is called ‘Mile 14’. We have a scheduled time for withdrawal in which the SPLA will complete from withdrawing its forces on the 24^th,” said the officer.

Armies of both sides will pull back ten kilometres to each side of a security line drawn by the African Union mediation. The force commander of UNISFA, the UN Interim Assistance Force in Abyei, has the responsibility of verifying the withdrawals not only in Abyei but along the entire border, according to the implementation matrix signed last week in Addis Ababa.

“Instead of the minister in Khartoum to announce, we on our side are announcing the completion from withdrawal. There is a mechanism called UNISFA which is currently present in Abyei. This mechanism is commissioned to monitor the withdrawal from the demilitarized zones and soldiers,” Aguer said.

Meanwhile, in Khartoum it was announced the completion of their withdrawal process from the areas under the demilitarized buffer zones between South Sudan and Sudan.

Lt. Gen. Imad Adowa, a member of the joint political committee negotiating with South Sudan said from Addis Ababa in a press statement that the armies of the two countries have completed withdrawing from the demilitarized zones.

“We are seriously asking the two parties in regarding to the withdrawal of the troops from the demilitarized zone. We received a report from the field which confirms the completion of the withdrawal process of these troops,” Gen. Adowa claimed.