North Sudan army deployed military hardware in Abyei, activists ARTICLECOMMENTS (14) EmailPrintSave
April 7, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – North Sudan army has been observed to deploy attack helicopters and tanks near the contested region Abyei, a monitoring group said on Thursday, citing satellite images. Zambian peacekeepers with the UN Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) are pictured on patrol in Sudan’s Abyei region (UN PHOTOS) Ownership of the oil-producing region of Abyei is claimed by both north and south Sudan, which voted earlier this year to become fully independent. Recurring clashes in the region as well as failure to reach a political settlement have stoked concerns of a possible return to north-south civil war which ended in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The status of the region was supposed to be determined through a referendum in January but the vote has been held hostage to disagreements between north and south Sudan over the right to vote. International organizations including the UN and the International Crisis Group previously warned that north and south Sudan armies have displayed an aggressive military posture within the range of the region. The Satellite Sentinel Project, which was started by American actor George Clooney and other activists, claimed that its newly acquired satellite images show that the north’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has in recent weeks deployed “two attack helicopters and at least nine battle tanks within the range of Abyei.” The group warned that the move “constituted a major escalation in the military capacity of the northern army (SAF) in the disputed area.” Reuters reported that SAF spokesman, Al-Sawarmi Khaled, said that the army had no troops inside Abyei and that it was free to manage its resources as it saw fit in Muglad since the area is in northern territory. "I can say we are not going to do anything in Abyei. We are not going to attack or fight in Abyei," Al-Sawarmi was quoted. The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has intensified patrolling of Abyei in response to a spike in fighting between the north-linked nomadic tribe of Messirya and south Sudan police in the area. North Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir agreed with his south Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir on Thursday to start implementing an agreement signed earlier this year in the town of Kadugli to provide security in Abyei and allow members of Messiray to cross into Abyei to graze their cattle. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
