AFRICA/SUDAN - Over 50,000 people flee Abyei, town rich in fuel reserves in dispute between north and south Sudan

Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) - The fighting going on for control of the area of Abyei, between troops of the Sudanese army and the SPLM/A (Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement/Army) is the most serious violation of the peace treaty signed by both parties in Nairobi in January 2005. The fighting that began last week has involved the use of mortars and heavy artillery, forcing 50,000 inhabitants to leave their homes, which are situated in an area that is being disputed over for its rich fuel reserves.
Abyei is a town in South Khordofan, near the border with southern Darfour. Over the course of Sudan’s history, it became a bridge between north and south, between the Arab/Islamic zone and the African Christian and animist area. Abyei is one of the points left unresolved by the treaties between the government in Khartoum and the SPLM/A that in 2005 signed an accord to place an end to the was in south Sudan. Based on these agreements, an autonomous administration was installed in Khartoum and in 2011, a referendum will be held to decide whether this territory will continue belonging to Sudan (which would give it a greater autonomy) or if it will become independent. However, an accord was never reached regarding some of the border zones, and it is unknown whether it belongs to north or south Sudan. Abyei is one of these areas. Formally speaking, it belongs to the north, however its population is formed by 280,000 people of the southern tribes that during the war fought against the regime in Khartoum.
The government crisis that has begun this year and that caused the suspension of the participation of SPLM representatives in the intent for national unity is precisely due to the “Protocols of Abyei.” It is an accord signed under United States pressure, in 2004, in Naivasha (Kenya), prior to the Global Peace Accord of 2005, in order to overcome one of the main obstacles in reaching an accord between Khartoum and SPLM. The Protocols of Abyei call for a special administration for the area, until 2011, the procedure in determining borders, the distribution of fuel profits of the area, and a referendum in 2011 that will take place simultaneously with the referendum of the southern populations in order to determine whether Abyei will form part of the north or the south.
In spite of the fact that a commission defined, according to the Protocols, Abyei’s borders, the government in Khartoum rejected its results. The point in dispute is the control of fuel resources in the area: in 2006, Sudan made 670 million dollars in exports from Abyei, 13% of all fuel exports from Sudan that year.
In spite of the peace accord, both SPLM and the army in Khartoum continue to acquire arms. This situation, along with the conflict in Darfour (west Sudan) has international observers worried about the country’s possible destabilization. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 21/05/2008 righe 36, parole 479)