"With secession looming, Sudanese agree to keep forces out of contested region" by Associated Press / June 21, 2011
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Leaders from north and south Sudan signed an agreement yesterday to demilitarize the disputed central region of Abyei and allow an Ethiopian peacekeeping force to move in, said a former South African president who is helping lead peace talks.
Thabo Mbeki said the agreement provides for the full demilitarization of Abyei, a fertile land near major oil fields that both north and south claim as their own. Troops from northern Sudan moved into the region last month, action that sent tens of thousands of people aligned with the south fleeing....
An Ethiopian peacekeeping force that is ready to deploy will move in to Abyei as soon as possible, Mbeki said. The UN Security Council will decide at a meeting in New York what the mandate and size of the Ethiopian force will be.
Shortly after the agreement was reached, Mbeki told the UN Security Council by video conference that both parties want the UN to move quickly to see the agreement implemented....
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Related: Injecting Ethiopia Into Sudan
