Clashes in Sudans oil-rich town of Abyei could pitch the north and south of the country into civil war again, a senior official from South Sudan says according to BBC online Tuesday
– We are on the brink of war, Pagan Amum, secretary general of the former rebel Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM), told the BBC.
Up to 90.000 people have fled after a week of fighting and the disputed town is now controlled by northern soldiers. A deal in 2005 ended years of war with the SPLM joining a unity government.
Oil-rich Abyei is at the heart of a bitter dispute between the north and south. Both sides want it as their own, but its status remains contested more than three years after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed.
A northern official told the BBC he would not respond to Mr Amums comments ahead of a high-level meeting between both sides expected to take place later on Tuesday.
The 20-year north-south civil war, separate from the Darfur conflict, is said to have cost 1,5 million lives. As part of the deal, nationwide elections are due to take place next year, to be followed in 2011 by a referendum on whether the south should secede (løsrive sig).
