UN Repositions Troops in The Sudan

UN Peacekeeping Forces in Sudan Moved To Highly Contentious Region

VoA News: A U.N. official says peacekeeping troops in Sudan are being concentrated along sensitive parts of the north-south border ahead of the south’s vote on independence.

The head of the U.N. Mission in Sudan, Haile Menkerios, said Monday that extra troops have been sent to the disputed Abyei region to reinforce patrols, among other deployments.

Southern Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, asked the U.N. Security Council earlier this month to place more troops on the border to create a buffer zone.

Menkerios said the U.N. has not decided on whether to send more peacekeepers to Sudan. He said the more than 10,000 troops patrolling the border are overstretched.

Tension between the north and south is rising as south’s January 9 referendum approaches. The north is pushing for unity, but most analysts say the south will vote to secede.

The referendum is part of the 2005 peace deal that ended Sudan’s 21-year north-south civil war. Officials in Khartoum have given mixed signals on whether they will accept the outcome of the south’s vote.

The oil-rich Abyei region is scheduled to hold a separate referendum, also on January 9, to decide whether to be part of the north or the south.

Last week, northern Sudanese officials called for the postponement of the Abyei vote. Southern Sudanese and Abyei leaders rejected the possibility of any delay.

Observers have warned that preparations for the two referenda are running behind schedule.