Abyei (town)

9.628.433333333333Koordinaten: 9 ° 36 'N, 28 ° 26' O

Abyei (Arabic أبيي, DMG Abyī ) is the capital of the disputed between North Sudan and South Sudan Abyei area. Administratively, it is assigned as the entire territory of both the northern state Dschanub Kordofan as well as the belonging to the South Sudan state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal.

Accessibility

The nearest neighboring city is Bentiu. From there a known dangerous unpaved runway after Abyei. The journey time is approximately six hours.

Conflicts

It always comes back to violent incidents between Arab-Muslim nomads ( Misseriye ) and African farmers, mostly Christians and animists. In May 2008, broke out in Abyei from fighting between North and South Sudanese troops, in which the city was largely destroyed and most of the inhabitants fled.

Sudan and South Sudan could not agree on which side of the border, the city shall be after the scheduled for July 9, 2011 independence of the South. A referendum failed because both sides so far been unable to agree as to which parts of the population were eligible to vote in this regard. On May 21, 2011 moved troops to the Sudanese army and militiamen Misseriye after heavy fighting in the city. President Omar al-Bashir dissolved the previously operated by representatives of both sides of Directors of the city. As a result, there were massive movements of refugees, the Abyei left almost empty. According to the UN and the Organization of Not on Our Watch it came to looting and arson by nordsudanesische soldiers together with the militia Misseriye - people. The requests of the UN Security Council to evacuate the city's northern Sudanese troops did not come by until now (June 2011).