The ambassador of South Sudan in Khartoum denies having held any private meeting with the co-chair of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC), calling reports by the Sudanese media “baseless”.

Ambassador Mayan Dut Wol disclosed he met with the AJOC co-chair Al-Khair Al-Fahim “in the presence of the people from the Abyei area, in which we discussed the investigation of the killing of the Ngok Dinka paramount chief Kuol Deng Kuol.”

He also denied having talked about a reconciliation conference between the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya in Abyei, contrary to what was broadcast by the media. However, Wol reaffirmed South Sudan’s “firm stance to conduct a referendum in Abyei in October in line with the proposal of Thabo Mbeki”, the chairman of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP).

For his part, Al-Fahim reaffirmed Sudan's government refusal to conduct an Abyei referendum.

File photo: Ambassador Mayen Dut Wol (The Niles/Mohamed Hilaly)