Abyei (also spelled Abyēy; ) is a border town currently in the

Abyei Area The Abyei Area () is an area of on the border between South Sudan and Sudan that has been accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in the Comprehensive Peace Agre ...

that is

disputed Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an oppo ...

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

and the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

estimated the town's population at around 20,000 previous to May 2011 events.Reuters; 05.22.2011; "North Sudan seizes disputed Abyei, thousands flee"
. accessed 5.30.2011 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 The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the military force of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key parti ...

(SPLA) and the

Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. The force strength has been estimated at personnel in 2011 (by IISS), 200,000 personnel before the current war in Sudan broke out in 2023 (by the CIA), and ...

(SAF) after the

Government of South Sudan The politics of South Sudan concern the system of government in the Republic of South Sudan, a country in East Africa, and the people, organizations, and events involved in it. As a region, the Republic of South Sudan gained autonomy in 2005 wit ...

appointed an administrator for the region, a move the

Messiria The Messiria (), also known as Misseriya Arabs, are a branch of the Baggara ethnic grouping of Arab tribes.Adam, Biraima M. (2012)''Baggara of Sudan: Culture and Environment'' Amazon online Books. Their language is primarily Sudanese Arabic, wh ...

objected to.United Nations Development Programme - Suda
UNHCR; 21 May 2008; "Sudan: Fighting could hamper Abyei aid operation"
Retrieved 24 July 2009.

2009

Some 50,000 of Abyei Town's mostly

Dinka The Dinka people () are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of three provinces that were formerly part of southern ...

inhabitants fled southwards, to

Agok Agok () is a border town in the disputed Abyei region near the South Sudanese border. Due to the civil war in Sudan between 2007 and 2011 many of the residents in South Sudan fled to Agok which is the reason why 23,000 of the 30,000 total peop ...

in present South 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 The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA, ), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was an accord signed on 9 January 2005, by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan. The CPA was meant to end the Second Sudane ...

, much of the town was rebuilt by mid-2009.

2011

Abyei referendum

Whether Abyei Area and town would remain part of the

South Kordofan South Kordofan ( ') is one of the 18 States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 158,355 km2 and an estimated population of approximately 2,107,623 people (2018 est). Kaduqli is the capital of the state. It is centered on t ...

region of northern

or become part of the

Bahr el Ghazal Bahr el-Ghazal (, also transliterated ''Bahr al-Ghazal'', ''Baḥr al-Ghazāl'', ''Bahr el-Gazel'', or versions of these without the hyphen) may refer to two distinct places, both named after ephemeral or dry rivers. Chad * Bahr el-Ghazal (wadi in ...

region of

(Republic of South Sudan) was to be decided by a local referendum in 2011.Aafriquejet; 01.19.2011 "Abyei referendum issue unresolved"
/ref> Disagreements over the process, and the recent violent takeover, raise questions whether a vote will be held.

Takeover

The northern Sudan military succeeded in their forceful takeover of Abyei Area and town on 21 May 2011. A week after the takeover, satellite images show that the northern Sudan army burned and razed about one-third of all civilian buildings in the town during the violence.Al Jazeera English; 30 May 2011; "US group says Sudan army committed war crimes"
. accessed 05.30.2011 Tens of thousands of Abyei Area civilians, including up to 35,000 children, have been

internally displaced An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. I ...

by the northern takeover. The satellite image evidence, supporting a claim of state-sponsored

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

of much of the contested Abyei town and region, is being submitted to the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

(ICC) and the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

for assessment.

Climate

Abyei has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(BSh) bordering a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(Aw) under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

References

{{reflist

External links

The Abyei Committee
Populated places in South Kordofan Populated places in South Sudan 2011 in Sudan 2011 in South Sudan Bahr el Ghazal