The African Union on Friday urged Sudan and former rebels in the south of the country to exercise restraint and seek a political settlement after clashes left at least 22 soldiers dead in a flashpoint region.
“The Commission of the African Union is greatly concerned over the renewed hostilities between the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement [CPA] in Abyei, the Sudan,” the AU said in a statement.
“The fighting, which during the last few days caused numerous casualties and continues to displace tens of thousands of people, goes against the basic principles of resolving differences through peaceful means as set forth in the CPA,” it added.
The AU urged the feuding sides to “exercise maximum restraint in order to facilitate the promotion of a lasting political settlement” and called for a safe corridor to aid humanitarian assistance to affected civilians.
Brigadier General Muntasir Sabil, a government military commander in Abyei, said that 22 of soldiers were killed and 45 wounded in Tuesday fighting with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.
Under the 2005 CPA that ended a bloody two-decade civil war, the south was offered a six-year transition period of regional autonomy and participation in a unity government until a 2011 referendum on self-determination.
Halfway through the transition period, Abyei is still not governed by a functioning joint administration as stipulated in a special protocol.
The impasse has been one issue delaying implementation of the entire peace deal. In 2011, Abyei will hold a separate referendum on whether to retain its special administrative status in the north or join the south. — AFP