FNs observatører under folkeafstemningen om selvstændighed for Syd Sudan er tilfredse efter de første dage af den ugelange afstemning. Men FN udtrykker også “dyb bekymring” over rapportrer om sammenstød og tilskadekomne i den olie-rige Abyei-region.
The independence referendum in South Sudan, which could split Africa’s largest country in two and produce the United Nations’ 193rd Member State, has got off to a good start with officials successfully handling a large initial turnout, the head of the UN monitoring panel has said, according to UN News Centre.
At the same time, the UN voiced “extreme concern” Monday about reports of clashes and casualties in the disputed oil-rich Abyei region, straddling the borders between North and South, which has been cited as a potential hotspot for renewed conflict between the two.
As the week-long vote entered its second day, Monday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s three-member panel, headed by former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa, continued their tour of polling centres, visiting three states, talking to voters and meeting with Government and referendum officials.
OVERVÆLDENDE FREMMØDE
– The turnout in the first day has been overwhelming but officials have coped very well with that, and we commend them for this, Mr. Mkapa said in Bor, Jonglei state, where he spoke to local journalists.
– Our hope is that when we finish on the 15th of January, the results will be aggregated as quickly as possibly so that we can settle the minds of the voters as well as the international community who are looking forward to a conclusive and credible result of this referendum, he said.
The second-day turnout appeared considerable smaller than the first day’s flood of voters, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) said.
The mission set up in 2005 to support the accord ending a civil war that claimed the lives of some 2 million people and drove an estimated 4.5 million others from their homes, has been assisting in preparations for the referendum.
