July 21, 2011, .sabc news)-Ethiopian peacekeepers have started to arrive in Sudan's flashpoint Abyei region and will begin operations by the end of the week.
The county's foreign ministry spokesperson has told the media: "A brigade of Ethiopian peacekeepers will arrive in the Abyei region later this week ... Around 4 200 troops have already travelled to Sudan overland in the past week."
"This mission, which operates under the auspices of the United Nations, will start peacekeeping operations in the Abyei area by the end of this week," he added.
The UN Security Council ordered the Ethiopian peacekeeping force to the bitterly contested Sudanese border region last month in a bid to douse tensions between north and south in the run-up to the July 9 partition.
According to the United Nations, the Sudanese army occupied Abyei town and the surrounding area in May, prompting more than 110 000 ethnically southern residents to flee south.
The Ethiopian force is responsible for monitoring the withdrawal of Sudanese troops, protecting civilians and establishing the peaceful conditions for holding a referendum on Abyei's future status.
Speaking to the southern army on Tuesday, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir insisted, for the first time since his country formally declared independence from the north, that Abyei belonged to and would eventually rejoin the south. - Sapa
Source: SABCNews
The county's foreign ministry spokesperson has told the media: "A brigade of Ethiopian peacekeepers will arrive in the Abyei region later this week ... Around 4 200 troops have already travelled to Sudan overland in the past week."
"This mission, which operates under the auspices of the United Nations, will start peacekeeping operations in the Abyei area by the end of this week," he added.
The UN Security Council ordered the Ethiopian peacekeeping force to the bitterly contested Sudanese border region last month in a bid to douse tensions between north and south in the run-up to the July 9 partition.
According to the United Nations, the Sudanese army occupied Abyei town and the surrounding area in May, prompting more than 110 000 ethnically southern residents to flee south.
The Ethiopian force is responsible for monitoring the withdrawal of Sudanese troops, protecting civilians and establishing the peaceful conditions for holding a referendum on Abyei's future status.
Speaking to the southern army on Tuesday, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir insisted, for the first time since his country formally declared independence from the north, that Abyei belonged to and would eventually rejoin the south. - Sapa
Source: SABCNews
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