Abyei (town)

Abyei (also spelled Abyēy; Arabic: أبيي‎) is a north-south border town currently in the Abyei Area of the South Kordofan region, in the south of Northern Sudan. The U.N. estimated the town's population at around 20,000 previous to May 2011 events.

The oil-producing and fertile Abyei Area, with Abyei town as its center, is a disputed territorial point of contention in the July 2011 secession of South Sudan process.

History

2008 Conflict

Abyei town was almost completely destroyed in May 2008 when tensions escalated between the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA) and the Sudanese Army Force (SAF) after the Government of South Sudan appointed an administrator for the region, a move the Messiria objected to.

2009

Some 50,000 of Abyei Town's inhabitants, mostly Dinka fled southwards to Agok in Southern Sudan. Since the signing of the roadmap for the return of the displaced and the implementation of the Abyei Protocol in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, much of the town was rebuilt by mid-2009.

Abyei

The Abyei Area (Arabic: أبيي‎) is an area of 10,546 square kilometres (2,606,000 acres) (4,072 sq mi) in Sudan accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. The capital of Abyei Area is Abyei Town. The area is claimed by South Sudan but currently controlled by the northern Sudanese government.

Considered a historical bridge between northern and southern Sudan, the Abyei Area had previously been considered part of the larger Abyei District within the now-abolished state of West Kurdufan. Under the terms of the Abyei Protocol, the Abyei Area was declared, on an interim basis, to be simultaneously part of the states of South Kurdufan and Northern Bahr el Ghazal.

In contrast to the borders of the former district, the Abyei Protocol defined the Abyei Area as "the area of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905". In 2005, a multinational border commission established this to be those portions of Kordofan south of 10°22′30″ N. However, following continued disputes that erupted into violence and threatened the CPA, an international arbitration process redrew Abyei's boundaries in 2009 to make it significantly smaller, extending no further north than 10°10′00" N. This revised border has now been endorsed by all parties to the dispute.

Abyei District

Abyei District was a former district of Sudan, considered part of the state of West Kurdufan. Upon the dissolution of West Kurdufan in 2005, it was included in the state of South Kurdufan. Its administrative centre was the town of Abyei.

Dissolution

The 2004 Protocol on the resolution of the Abyei conflict (Abyei Protocol) in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War included provisions to replace the Abyei district with a new jurisdiction to be accorded "special administrative status". The new area was to have different borders, intended to represent “the area of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905”, with demarcation to be determined by a multinational commission. After considerable dispute, a consensus on boundaries enclosing a territory considerably smaller than the existing Abyei district was reached in 2009. A new administration was established for the new Abyei Area, covering the southwestern part of the former district. It is unclear what local government provisions were put in place for the district's remaining territory.