JUBA, Sudan (AP) — Arab tribesmen
accompanied by a northern Sudanese
government-backed militia killed 20 policemen in
the disputed region of Abyei, a southern military
spokesman said Monday, raising concerns of
violence as the south holds its independence
referendum.
The attack came Sunday, the first day of voting in
Southern Sudan's weeklong referendum, which
is widely predicted to break Africa's largest
country in two.
Abyei, which straddles the north-south divide
and holds oil deposits, had been promised its
own self-determination vote, but now its future
will be decided by north-south negotiations that
have so far made little progress.
Col. Philip Aguer, the spokesman for Southern
Sudan's army, said that the Misseriya, an Arab
tribe that moves its cattle herds through Abyei,
attacked the village of Maker-Adhar on Sunday
with anti-tank weapons and artillery. Aguer said
he believes the attack was planned.
"They were not with cattle, they were coming for
(an) attack," Aguer said.
Aguer said the Misseriya were accompanied by
uniformed militia men known as the Popular
Defense Forces, a Khartoum-backed militia whose
existence was outlawed by the 2005 peace
agreement that ended the 23-year north-south
civil war.
Aguer said 20 police serving with Abyei's joint
integrated police unit were killed. Another 30 were
wounded.
Jubilant voters flooded polling stations in
Southern Sudan on Sunday and again on
Monday, and the seven days of balloting are likely
to produce an overwhelming vote for
independence. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir
has said he will let the south secede peacefully.
But Abyei is still a major sticking point, and
officials from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
to Sudan activist and actor George Clooney have
warned that Abyei holds the potential to reverse
the south's gains and send the north and south
back toward conflict. Clooney helped set up a
project for satellites to watch any possible troop
movements in Abyei.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jW6-Fl8VnxxIvEDYpmg40VDoQuTA?docId=010b2de9ab5a433b9bdc30a6caeb857a
accompanied by a northern Sudanese
government-backed militia killed 20 policemen in
the disputed region of Abyei, a southern military
spokesman said Monday, raising concerns of
violence as the south holds its independence
referendum.
The attack came Sunday, the first day of voting in
Southern Sudan's weeklong referendum, which
is widely predicted to break Africa's largest
country in two.
Abyei, which straddles the north-south divide
and holds oil deposits, had been promised its
own self-determination vote, but now its future
will be decided by north-south negotiations that
have so far made little progress.
Col. Philip Aguer, the spokesman for Southern
Sudan's army, said that the Misseriya, an Arab
tribe that moves its cattle herds through Abyei,
attacked the village of Maker-Adhar on Sunday
with anti-tank weapons and artillery. Aguer said
he believes the attack was planned.
"They were not with cattle, they were coming for
(an) attack," Aguer said.
Aguer said the Misseriya were accompanied by
uniformed militia men known as the Popular
Defense Forces, a Khartoum-backed militia whose
existence was outlawed by the 2005 peace
agreement that ended the 23-year north-south
civil war.
Aguer said 20 police serving with Abyei's joint
integrated police unit were killed. Another 30 were
wounded.
Jubilant voters flooded polling stations in
Southern Sudan on Sunday and again on
Monday, and the seven days of balloting are likely
to produce an overwhelming vote for
independence. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir
has said he will let the south secede peacefully.
But Abyei is still a major sticking point, and
officials from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
to Sudan activist and actor George Clooney have
warned that Abyei holds the potential to reverse
the south's gains and send the north and south
back toward conflict. Clooney helped set up a
project for satellites to watch any possible troop
movements in Abyei.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jW6-Fl8VnxxIvEDYpmg40VDoQuTA?docId=010b2de9ab5a433b9bdc30a6caeb857a
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