News Article by REUTERS posted on June 03, 2008 at 15:07:44: EST (-5 GMT)
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South Sudan accuses Khartoum of sending troops JUBA, Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudan's leader accused the northern government on Tuesday of reinforcing troops in the disputed oil town of Abyei, raising tensions as U.N. Security Council envoys flew in to shore up a north-south peace deal. Clashes in Abyei last month increased fears of a return to all out war between the northern government and the south, which signed a peace agreement in 2005 to end two decades of civil war. The Security Council envoys, who flew into the southern capital Juba on a tour of African hotspots, discussed Abyei with South Sudan's leader Salva Kiir and will also hold talks with President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's government in Khartoum. At stake in Abyei is control of lucrative oilfields and a pipeline supplying about half Sudan's daily 500,000 barrel output. Three years after the peace accord, the sides have failed to agree on the borders or administration for the area. South Sudan's leader told reporters: "The troops are coming down from Khartoum to Abyei ... I have already called him (Bashir) to order his military leaders to pull out their forces from the Abyei area. We are not going to fight them." Kiir, who is president of semi-autonomous south Sudan as well as first vice-president of the country as a whole, said there was no danger of a return to war "as long as there was a will for peace". Deng Arop, a senior official of the parliament in the south, told Reuters 38 trucks full of northern soldiers had arrived in el-Muglad, a town about 120 km (75 miles) north of Abyei, over the weekend. "They are converging on Abyei, they expect a big fight," he said. "There are three battalions -- one brigade." He estimated that would mean 2,100 soldiers and not less than 1,500, equipped with heavy weapons. No on was immediately available for comment from Sudan's government or armed forces. But officials have denied southern accusations of troop buildups in the past. THOUSANDS FLED At least 20 soldiers were killed in Abyei last month and the fighting forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. The envoys of the 15-nation U.N. Security Council are making a three-day visit to Sudan, where they will also be looking at the separate conflict in the western Darfur region raging since 2003. Rebels in far-flung regions of Africa's biggest country accuse traditionally Arab-dominated governments of neglect and discrimination. Black African south Sudan is largely Christian and animist. Darfur is strongly Muslim but mostly non-Arab. Members of the Security Council discussed Abyei with Kiir ahead of meetings scheduled with northern leaders on Wednesday. "It's too early to talk about a crisis in the CPA," said Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, John Sawers, referring to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. "But we will certainly be wanting to talk to President Salva Kiir and to leaders in Khartoum about how to move forward and get the CPA back on track," he told Reuters before the meeting. The U.S. envoy to Sudan said on Monday there had been progress in negotiations between northern and southern leaders since the fighting in Abyei and that "gaps have been narrowed substantially", but it remained a flashpoint. In another sign of south Sudan's fragile security situation, officials said at least 20 people were killed on Monday in tribal clashes in Warrap state, where thousands have already been forced from their homes.
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