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| Sudan Abyei dispute: Gunmen burning and looting - UN | Sudan Abyei dispute: Gunmen burning and looting - UN |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The Sudanese town of Abyei has been set on fire, with gunmen looting property, the UN says. | The Sudanese town of Abyei has been set on fire, with gunmen looting property, the UN says. |
| The town and surrounding area are claimed by both Khartoum and by South Sudan, set to become independent in July. The town was captured at the weekend by northern troops. | The town and surrounding area are claimed by both Khartoum and by South Sudan, set to become independent in July. The town was captured at the weekend by northern troops. |
| The UN has urged Sudan's government in Khartoum to withdraw its forces. | The UN has urged Sudan's government in Khartoum to withdraw its forces. |
| South Sudan's secession follows decades of north-south conflict and some fear this dispute could reignite the war. | South Sudan's secession follows decades of north-south conflict and some fear this dispute could reignite the war. |
| 'Act of war' | |
| In a statement, the UN Mission in Sudan (Unmis) said it "strongly condemns the burning and looting currently being perpetrated by armed elements in Abyei town". | In a statement, the UN Mission in Sudan (Unmis) said it "strongly condemns the burning and looting currently being perpetrated by armed elements in Abyei town". |
| It stressed that the northern troops were "responsible for maintaining law and order in the areas they control", urging Khartoum to "intervene to stop these criminal acts". | It stressed that the northern troops were "responsible for maintaining law and order in the areas they control", urging Khartoum to "intervene to stop these criminal acts". |
| South Sudan earlier denounced the Abyei takeover on Saturday as an act of war. | |
| A southern military spokesman told the BBC the north had attacked the area with 5,000 troops, killing civilians and southern soldiers. | |
| Some 20,000 people, almost the whole population of the town, had fled, aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the BBC. | |
| Khartoum has said it acted after 22 of its men were killed in a southern ambush earlier this week - a claim denied by South Sudan. | |
| UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and EU top diplomat Catherine Ashton have both condemned the violence in the region. | |
| Tension over Abyei - claimed by a southern group, the Dinka Ngok, and northern nomads, the Misseriya - has been rising since a referendum on its future scheduled for January was postponed. | |
| Since then there have been fears clashes in the region could spark a new war between the northern-based government of Sudan and the soon-to-be independent South Sudan. | |
| Under a 2005 peace agreement, which ended 22 years of civil war, Abyei was granted special status and a joint north-south administration set up in 2008. |