So this is the result of the great U.S. success, 'eh?
"20 killed in Sudan border skirmish" May 05, 2011|Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG — Renewed fighting in Sudan’s most contested border region and in a strategic oil-rich state has left at least 20 people dead, and a top official said yesterday that he feared more attacks in the weeks leading up to Southern Sudan’s independence in July....
Southern Sudan voted in January to secede from the north and is set to become a new nation in 10 weeks. The independence referendum was part of a peace deal to end more than two decades of war that has left at least 2 million dead.
Since the historic vote, at least seven southern rebel movements have emerged or resumed their activities, causing heavy violence across the south as the southern army has attempted to defeat these challengers.
Those are the groups AmeriKa supports.
Southern officials have repeatedly blamed the Khartoum-based northern government for the unrest in the south, allegations the north continues to deny.
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"Sudan troops in disputed spot to withdraw" May 10, 2011|Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG — The United Nations says Sudan’s north and south have agreed to withdraw all “unauthorized forces’’ from a contested border hot spot, where fears are rising that conflict could ignite as Southern Sudan prepares to become the world’s newest country....
A land of blond grasslands during the dry season and lush green expanses during the rainy season, Abyei is home to Ngok Dinka subsistence farmers who are loyal to the south.
The region is also used by the Misseriya people, Arab cattle-herders who graze seasonally through Abyei, moving south to water their cattle at the River Kiir, which they call the Bahr el-Arab. Even the name of this treasured water source is contested by these two populations who warily coexist on this land.
War always come down to water, oil, and land -- with debt at the bottom of it all.
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"Town seized, south Sudan seeks aid" May 23, 2011|Associated Press
JUBA, Sudan — Southern Sudanese officials appealed for international help yesterday after northern Sudanese troops seized a disputed border town, but foreign diplomats say they have little leverage to dislodge northern soldiers from a flash point that threatens to reignite the country’s civil war....
Northern tanks rolled into Abyei on Saturday night, scattering southern troops there. The UN compound was also hit by mortar fire.
The move followed an attack on a convoy of northern soldiers on Thursday and two days of aerial bombardment of the area by the north.
The northern army accused the south of violating the peace agreement and said the northern occupation of the area, including Abyei, would continue until an accord can be reached that would guarantee security and stability in the region....
President Omar al-Bashir’s northern ruling party issued a statement saying northern troops were “entrusted with protecting Sudan’s territory and stability and the security of its citizens in the south and north.’’
Both north and south claim Abyei, a fertile region near several large oil fields.
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"Disputed Sudan town burned, looted" May 24, 2011|Associated Press
JUBA, Sudan — Armed men burned and looted the flashpoint town of Abyei yesterday after days of violence involving northern and southern troops in the disputed region.
Southern Sudan’s military said it would defend its territory, while an Arab herdsman said his tribe is in Abyei to stay, an indication Sudan’s peace could crumble before the south’s July independence.
Violence flared late last week in Abyei, a no man’s land between north and south Sudan. Southern Sudan voted in January to secede from the north, and the region becomes an independent country on July 9. But violence in Abyei is overshadowing the march toward independence.
The UN mission in Sudan said armed elements were burning and looting in Abyei and said the northern Sudanese Armed Forces must fulfill their responsibility to intervene.
In photos provided by the United Nations, the town appeared deserted except for what appeared to be looters....
Both north and south claim Abyei, a fertile region near several large oil fields, and its disputed status has long been recognized as a potential trigger for violence....
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"197 northern troops killed or missing in attack, Sudan official says; Clash bloodiest since civil war end" May 25, 2011|By Maggie Fick and Jason Straziuso, Associated Press
JUBA, Sudan — Seventy northern Sudanese soldiers were killed and more than 120 are missing from an attack last week by southern Sudanese forces near the disputed region of Abyei, a Sudanese diplomat said yesterday, describing a toll that, if verified, marks one of the bloodiest clashes since the end of Sudan’s civil war.
A UN spokesman said he believed the casualty numbers were much smaller.
I'm certainly seeing a subtle slant in coverage.
The south voted to secede from Sudan, Africa’s largest country, this year but the future of the 4,000-square-mile Abyei region, which lies near the north-south border, was left in doubt.
The fighting that began Thursday threatens to unravel a 2005 peace deal and reignite a civil war that left more than 2 million people dead.
According to the United Nations, southern troops started the clash by attacking a column of northern troops and UN peacekeepers moving away from Abyei. The UN condemned the attack. Hua Jiang, a UN spokeswoman, said yesterday that no UN troops were killed....
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