US denies supporting Abyei unilateral referendum

October 11, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The United States of America did not provide any funds to support an unilateral vote that Ngok Dinka intend to organise this month to decide on the fate of the border disputed area, said the American embassy in Khartoum.

The semi-official Sudanese Media Center said on Wednesday that the former co-chair of Abyei steering committee Luka Biong and his organisation Kosh was seeking to convince Washington to provide 100 million US dollars to support the unilateral referendum.

“USAID is not providing any funds to support a unilateral Abyei referendum”, said a press statement released by the US embassy in Khartoum on Thursday.

The embassy stressed that the U.S. Government during the past years “has provided assistance to the people of Abyei as part of its humanitarian and peace building efforts”.

The Misseriya nomads who also claim the ownership of the disputed area warned they would reject the result of any vote held to determine the fate of Abyei without their participation and threatened to wage war against the Ngok Dinka.

Khartoum government, on the other hand, is keen to highlight a recent decision by the Sudan-South Sudan Consultative Forum (SSSCF), an African Union United Nations joint body, held in New York on 27 September, urging the two parties to refrain ” from undertaking unilateral actions”.

Also Sudanese officials blame the former U.S. envoy Princeton Lyman for supporting the proposal of the AU panel to hold Abyei referendum this October without the participation of Misseriya.

The statement underlined that Sudan has received this year more than $257.9 million in humanitarian assistance, including food aid, and non-food relief items.

Washington also provides bilateral development assistance estimates at $10.7 million to Sudan for the current 2013.

(ST)