Stefan
UN Team Leader
Posts: 10
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sudan
May 23, 2011 17:59:27 GMT -5
Post by Stefan on May 23, 2011 17:59:27 GMT -5
The town and surrounding area are claimed by both Khartoum and by South Sudan, set to become independent in July. The town was captured at the weekend by northern troops.
The UN has urged Sudan's government in Khartoum to withdraw its forces.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir later said that Khartoum wanted to resolve the issue peacefully.
South Sudan's secession follows decades of north-south conflict and some fear this dispute could reignite the war.
'Act of war' In a statement, the UN Mission in Sudan (Unmis) said it "strongly condemns the burning and looting currently being perpetrated by armed elements in Abyei town".
It stressed that the northern troops were "responsible for maintaining law and order in the areas they control", urging Khartoum to "intervene to stop these criminal acts".
South Sudan earlier denounced the Abyei takeover on Saturday as an act of war.
A southern military spokesman told the BBC the north had attacked the area with 5,000 troops, killing civilians and southern soldiers.
Some 20,000 people, almost the whole population of the town, had fled, aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the BBC.
Khartoum has said it acted after 22 of its men were killed in a southern ambush last Thursday. The northern troops were travelling in a UN convoy.
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