Abyei coup: Sudan 'on brink of full conflict'
Source: Agencies |
May 23, 2011, Monday
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SUDAN'S northern army seized control of the disputed, oil-producing Abyei region, officials said yesterday, forcing thousands to flee and bringing the country's north and south to the brink of full conflict.
Khartoum sent tanks into Abyei town, the area's main settlement, on Saturday, the United Nations said after weeks of growing tension and accusations of skirmishes by both sides.
Both the United States and Britain condemned the escalation of violence in the fertile border region, claimed by both north and south.
Control over Abyei remains the biggest point of contention in the countdown to the secession of south Sudan, expected in July.
Southerners overwhelmingly voted to declare independence from the north in a January referendum, promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war. Analysts say Abyei is the most likely place to spark a return to civil war, a development that could have a devastating impact on Sudan's neighbors which include Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
UN officials said the north had sent at least 15 tanks into Abyei town. "Most residents in Abyei town left (on Saturday) and have gone south. There are reports of looting by armed groups," UN spokeswoman Hua Jiang said, adding the town's population was estimated at around 20,000.
North Sudan said it had sent in the troops to clear out southern soldiers that it said had entered the area, breaking the terms of earlier agreements.
"The Sudanese armed forces control Abyei and are cleansing it of illegal forces," Amin Hassan Omar, a minister of state for presidential affairs, told reporters after meeting a delegation of the UN Security Council in Khartoum.
"The government is committed to the peace agreement but the southern army wanted to enforce a unilateral solution," he said.
The southern army "SPLA" accused the north of shelling villages and said it had withdrawn its forces from Abyei town after the north moved in.
"We call on the United Nations to protect civilians," said SPLA spokesman Philip Aguer. "We are worried about our troops. Communications are poor, we cannot get through to them."
Khartoum sent tanks into Abyei town, the area's main settlement, on Saturday, the United Nations said after weeks of growing tension and accusations of skirmishes by both sides.
Both the United States and Britain condemned the escalation of violence in the fertile border region, claimed by both north and south.
Control over Abyei remains the biggest point of contention in the countdown to the secession of south Sudan, expected in July.
Southerners overwhelmingly voted to declare independence from the north in a January referendum, promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war. Analysts say Abyei is the most likely place to spark a return to civil war, a development that could have a devastating impact on Sudan's neighbors which include Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
UN officials said the north had sent at least 15 tanks into Abyei town. "Most residents in Abyei town left (on Saturday) and have gone south. There are reports of looting by armed groups," UN spokeswoman Hua Jiang said, adding the town's population was estimated at around 20,000.
North Sudan said it had sent in the troops to clear out southern soldiers that it said had entered the area, breaking the terms of earlier agreements.
"The Sudanese armed forces control Abyei and are cleansing it of illegal forces," Amin Hassan Omar, a minister of state for presidential affairs, told reporters after meeting a delegation of the UN Security Council in Khartoum.
"The government is committed to the peace agreement but the southern army wanted to enforce a unilateral solution," he said.
The southern army "SPLA" accused the north of shelling villages and said it had withdrawn its forces from Abyei town after the north moved in.
"We call on the United Nations to protect civilians," said SPLA spokesman Philip Aguer. "We are worried about our troops. Communications are poor, we cannot get through to them."
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