Thousands have fled Sudan's volatile oil town of Abyei after fresh north-south fighting has reignited tensions over the contested area, officials said today.
At least one person was killed after shooting broke out yesterday between police and soldiers in the first significant violence since northern and southern troops clashed in the town in May, raising fears for a north-south peace deal.
Both Khartoum and its semi-autonomous south claim Abyei which is close to lucrative oil fields and a key pipeline.
The borders of the town and its surrounding territory were left undecided in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended two decades of north-south civil war. Both sides have refused to compromise over the demarcation.
Scores were killed, more than 50,000 were left homeless and Abyei was burned to the ground in the May clashes, which observers say may have started after a relatively minor confrontation at a checkpoint spiralled out of control.
Both sides eventually signed a roadmap agreement setting up a temporary administration, withdrawing troops and replacing them with integrated police and military units made up of both northerners and southerners.
Local officials said up to 10,000 Abyei residents had returned to the area to rebuild their homes before yesterday's clashes.
But a UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said almost all the people who had moved back to the town had been forced to flee again yesterday. A night curfew was now in force for those who remained, the official added.
Reuters