ETHIOPIA: Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir agrees to pull northern troops out of the disputed Abyei border region before the south secedes on July 9

Record ID: 1526899

  • Title: ETHIOPIA: Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir agrees to pull northern troops out of the disputed Abyei border region before the south secedes on July 9
  • Date: 13th June 2011
  • Summary: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (JUNE 12, 2011) (REUTERS) WIDE SHOT OF FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT, THABO MBEKI, WALKING MBEKI TALKING TO DELEGATES SOUTH SUDAN PRESIDENT, SALVA KIIR, WALKING INTO THE NATIONAL PALACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT, THABO MBEKI, SAYING: "What the principals have been looking at are matters related to Abyei as well as matters related to the border between North and South, security matters and arrangements that need to be made in that context." WIDE SHOT OF MR. MELES ZENAWI, THE PRIME MINISTER OF ETHIOPIA WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT, THABO MBEKI, SAYING: "It is a discussion about all of this matters which constitute all of these maters, withdrawal of troops, administration of Abyei, possible deployment of Ethiopian troops, political and security mechanism and its relevance to the border areas and all of this issues are being discussed." MBEKI TALKING TO FORMER NIGERIAN PRESIDENT, ABDULSALAMI ABUBAKAR
  • Embargoed: 28th June 2011 10:44
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ethiopia, Ethiopia
  • Country: Ethiopia
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA90G28YXIG5AF77KT87NQVVROR
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has agreed to pull northern troops out of the disputed Abyei border region before the south secedes on July 9, diplomats said on Sunday (June 12).
    A diplomat who did not want to be named told Reuters that Bashir has agreed to pull his troops out before July 9 and Ethiopia will be sending two battalions as peacekeepers deployed under the U.N. flag.
    Bashir was in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to meet the south's President Salva Kiir to discuss Abyei and other unresolved issues ahead of the split, which southerners voted for in a January referendum.
    "What the principals have been looking at are matters related to Abyei as well as matters related to the border between North and South, security matters and arrangements that need to be made in that context," said former South African President, Thabo Mbeki.
    The two sides have yet to agree on a number of sensitive issues such as where to draw the common border and how to share oil revenues, complicating the split.
    The status of Abyei has been one of the most contentious issues.
    Ethiopia has said it would consider sending peacekeeping troops to the region if both Khartoum and Juba requested them.
    "It is a discussion about all of this matters which constitute all of these maters, withdrawal of troops, administration of Abyei, possible deployment of Ethiopian troops, political and security mechanism and its relevance to the border areas and all of this issues are being discussed," said Mbeki.
    A second diplomat confirmed Bashir had agreed to the troop withdrawal and to the Ethiopian troop deployment.
    Khartoum moved tanks and troops into the fertile, oil-producing region on May 21, raising fears the two sides could return to open conflict. Tens of thousands fled the fighting.
    The occupation followed an attack on northern troops and U.N. peacekeepers that was blamed on southern forces.
    The January independence referendum was promised by a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of brutal civil war between north and south.
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