Joint units to pullout of Abyei – chief administrator

December 13, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — The newly appointed head of Abyei interim administration said today they decided to withdraw the Joint Integrated Units from the disputed area where 2 regular troops were killed on Friday.

The decision of the local administration comes at a time where the few population that returned recently after May deadly fighting begun to leave the leave the area again.

“The local government has decided to withdraw the joint-forces by next morning to avoid further friction with police,” said Arop Moyak, chief of Abyei’s administration.

It is not clear whether the withdrawal would be definitive or provisory. The UN, and national, international bodies dispensed a lot of money for the training of these JIUs and JPIUs and their transportation to the area.

Yesterday two police officers were shot during a limited clash between northern soldiers from the Joint Integrated Units and southern policemen from the Joint Integrated Police Unit.

Conflicting reports say among the two deaths there is a northern soldier.

The latest clash comes six months after a relative peace in the disputed area.

After last May fighting between the northern and southern Sudanese armies around 50,000 people fled the area. However after important efforts around 10,000 returned recently to Abyei.

But the traumatised population began since yesterday to flee again the contested the area.

Despite the signing of a protocol on the status of Abyei, the agreement remained unimplemented till last June where the two peace partners agreed to pullout troops and to deploy JIUs, the formation of interim administration and resolve their difference on the findings of Abyei border commission through an international court of arbitration.

(ST)