afrol News, 24 July - Thousands of Sudanese civilians uprooted by clashes between government troops and allied militiamen two months ago, in disputed oil-rich town of Abyei in South Sudan, are still unable to return to their homes.

According to New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW), civilians who are living in temporary shacks are reluctant to return to their homes fearing a renewed clash which was not fully resolved by government and southern militia.

HRW said since May confrontation, army troops and allied militiamen have since carried out massive lootings and burned down half of Abeyi's homes.

Rights group also accused Sudanese armed forces of restricting access to disputed town weeks after the clashes, and blocking a full and independent investigation into the violence.

Violence in May was seen as the biggest threat to the fledgling Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended 21 years of civil war between north and south in 2005 after more than 1,5 million people were killed. Peace accord entails southern Sudan to hold a referendum in 2011 over whether to secede from the rest of the country.

Last month Sudan has deployed a joint northern and southern battalion in the disputed oil-rich town of Abeyi region to set up a joint administration in the region to foil clashes which killed over 80 people.

A battalion made of 640 soldiers is part of a recent security arrangement signed between Khartoum-based President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) over control of Abeyi territory.

United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) was aware of growing tensions and the buildup of troops in Abyei since late 2007, yet when fighting broke out only 200 troops were deployed there, a force that was insufficient to protect civilians and their property during the confrontation.

At the request of Security Council, UNMIS has conducted an initial investigation into its own role in the run-up to and during the fighting, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to include initial findings in his quarterly report to the Security Council on July 24.

Meanwhile, Southern Sudan's army accused northern forces yesterday of raiding a village in Abyei region, but army in Sudan's capital Khartoum said the accusations were untrue.

Southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) said a village 10 kilometers north of Abyei had been attacked on Tuesday by northern Sudan Armed Forces. "They have burned down houses and schools," SPLA Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Mr James Hoth Mai said.

Army spokesman in Khartoum said: "There is absolutely no truth in this matter. Until now we have withdrawn 77 percent of our battalion from Abyei and we are continuing with this."

Over 2 million people died in Sudan's north-south war that also displaced around 4 million, which is separate from the Darfur conflict in the west of the country.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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