Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) immediate risk to life of attacks on civilians in the disputed Abyei region, including the towns of (i) Abyei and (ii) Agok, (b) roles of (A) Sudanese Armed Forces, (B) Misseriya militia, (C) Twic Dinka militias, (D) South Sudan People's Defence Forces and (D) Ngok Dinka militias in the ongoing violence; what representations she has made to authorities in the area including the leadership of UNISFA; and what steps she is taking to avoid escalation of that conflict.

We remain concerned at violence in Abyei. We continue to urge Sudan and South Sudan to reach a resolution on the final status of the region to help end the longstanding conflict and violence between different communities. We also frequently raise our concerns at the UN Security Council and have helped ensure that the UN peacekeeping mission (UNISFA) has a robust protection of civilians mandate. British embassy officials in Juba and Khartoum maintain regular contact with UNISFA, most recently sharing reports of potential violence in order to help understand conflict dynamics, and to prevent or respond to any attacks.