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North-South Clash in Sudan Kills 12 in Disputed Abyei Region

   VOA News  May 03, 2011

   At least 12 people were killed after a northern Sudanese army convoy
   entered the contested north-south border region of Abyei, sparking
   clashes with southern police.
   Abyei's top administrator, Deng Arop Kuol, says the fighting broke out
   Sunday when a Sudanese army convoy entered Abyei despite efforts by
   southern police to stop them.
   Kuol said a dozen people were killed including a policeman.
   In comments to Reuters news agency, a northern minister blamed the
   clashes on police, saying that troops were just joining an
   internationally recognized north-south force in the area.
   Each side regularly accuses the other of sending large numbers of
   soldiers into the disputed region.
   The oil-rich Abyei region was a battleground during Sudan's 21-year
   north-south civil war.
   South Sudan voted overwhelmingly to split from the north in a January
   referendum that northern leaders have said they will accept. However,
   the future of the Abyei region has yet to be resolved.
   Last week, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir warned his government
   would not recognize south Sudan as an independent state it it did not
   give up claims on Abyei.
   A scheduled referendum on which part of Sudan Abyei would join failed
   to happen, because the north and south could not agree on who was
   eligible to vote.

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