afrol News, 22 July - The International court of Arbitration in The Hague has given the Khartoum government control of the Heglig oilfields and the Nile oil pipeline in the disputed Abyei region.

The judges decided not to abide by the borders proposed after the 2005 peace deal, which ended the 22 year civil that the north government had rejected. Abyei's inhabitants will be asked in a referendum in 2011 whether they want to be a part of north or south Sudan.

Both the Sudanese government and former rebels in the south pledged on today to abide by the ruling of the Abyei Arbitration Tribunal in The Hague.

The Sudanese foreign ministry under-secretary, said today’s decision was a step forward is resolving the long dragging conflict on the ownership of the oil rich Abyei region.

"We respect this decision. And this decision is final and binding because all the parties agreed from the beginning that the decision of the court was binding and final," the official said.

A representative of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), Riek Machar, also said that he hoped that the ruling would consolidate and increase the chances for peace.

The Abyei issue was referred to The Hague court last year after clashes broke out in Abyei town, killing about 100 people and forcing tens of thousands to flee. UN peacekeepers beefed up their presence in Abyei amid fears that a controversial ruling could spark violence.

The 2005 CPA on the ensuing Abyei protocol, the south was granted a six-year transitional period of regional autonomy. The terms require the south and the Abyei region to hold referendums on their respective administrative status in 2011.

On 8 June, 2008, both Sudanese parties signed an agreement to break the three-year deadlock on the implementation of the Abyei Protocol forwarding the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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