Abyei (also spelled Abyēy; ar, أبيي) is a border town currently in the Abyei Area that is disputed by

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...

and the Sudan. The U.N. estimated the town's population at around 20,000 previous to May 2011 events.Reuters; 05.22.2011; "North Sudan seizes disputed Abyei, thousands flee"
. accessed 5.30.2011 The oil-producing and fertile Abyei Area, with Abyei town as its center, is a disputed territorial point of contention in the July 2011 secession of South Sudan process.

History

2008 conflict

Abyei town was almost completely destroyed in May 2008 when tensions escalated between the

Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a ...

(SPLA) and the

Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ar, القوات المسلحة السودانية, Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha as-Sudaniyah) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the regular forces' numbers at personnel, whi ...

(SAF) after the

Government of South Sudan A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

appointed an administrator for the region, a move the Messiria objected to.United Nations Development Programme - Suda
UNHCR; 21 May 2008; "Sudan: Fighting could hamper Abyei aid operation"
Retrieved 24 July 2009.

2009

Some 50,000 of Abyei Town's inhabitants, mostly

Dinka The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out ...

fled southwards to Agok in Southern Sudan. Since the signing of the roadmap for the return of the displaced and the implementation of the Abyei Protocol in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, much of the town was rebuilt by mid-2009.

2011

Abyei referendum

Whether Abyei Area and town would remain part of the

South Kordofan South Kordofan ( ar, جنوب كردفان ') is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 158,355 km² and an estimated population of approximately 1,100,000 people (2000).Sudan or become part of the

Bahr el Ghazal Bahr el-Ghazal (Arabic بحر الغزال , also transliterated ''Bahr al-Ghazal'', ''Baḩr al-Ghazāl'', ''Bahr el-Gazel'', or versions of these without the hyphen) may refer to two distinct places, both named after ephemeral or dry rivers. Chad ...

region of

(Republic of South Sudan) was to be decided by a local referendum in 2011.Aafriquejet; 01.19.2011 "Abyei referendum issue unresolved"
/ref> Disagreements over the process, and the recent violent takeover, raise questions whether a vote will be held.

Takeover

The northern Sudan military succeeded on May 21, 2011 with a forceful takeover of Abyei Area and town. A week after the takeover satellite images show that the Sudanese army burned and razed about one-third of all civilian buildings in the town during the violence.Al Jazeera English; 30 May 2011; "US group says Sudan army committed war crimes"
. accessed 05.30.2011 Tens of thousands of Abyei region civilians, including up to 35,000 children, have been displaced by the northern takeover. The satellite image evidence, supporting a claim of state-sponsored ethnic cleansing of much of the contested Abyei town and region, is being submitted to the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

(ICC) and the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

for assessment.

Climate

Abyei has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) bordering a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(Aw) under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

References

{{reflist

External links

The Abyei Committee
Populated places in South Kordofan 2011 in Sudan Bahr el Ghazal