CAIRO, May 24 (Reuters) - More than 15,000 people have fled Sudan's Abyei region to the south after the northern army seized the disputed area and parts of the main town were burned and looted, United Nations officials said. [ID:nLDE74N1C3]
Here are some questions and answers on Abyei:
WHY IS ABYEI IMPORTANT?
War, politics and oil. Analysts fear continued north-south fighting over the border region could reignite full-blown conflict in Sudan -- a development that would have a devastating impact on the surrounding, already fragile region.
Both north and south Sudan want oil-producing Abyei for political, commercial and highly-charged emotional reasons.
The issue has become even more pressing in the countdown to the secession of the south, expected to take place in July.
Southerners voted to declare independence from the north in a January referendum promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended the last north-south civil war and are determined to take Abyei with them.
WHAT IS AT STAKE?
Abyei was a key battle ground in the last civil war and has become a symbolic emblem for both sides.
Its fate has also become tied up in local politics. Abyei is occupied all year round by the Dinka Ngok people with strong ethnic links to the south and many of the south's most powerful leaders.
It is also used for part of the year by northern Arab nomads from the highly-armed Misseriya tribe who fear they will lose grazing land if Abyei heads south.
Khartoum has relied on the Misseriya to fight on its side in a number of conflicts and is determined to keep their loyalty.
Abyei contains one significant oilfield -- Defra, part of a block run by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC), a consortium led by China's CNPC. With most of Sudan's oil firmly in the south, the north wants to keep control of as much of its border reserves as it can.
WHY DID THE NORTHERN ARMY MOVE IN?
The northern and southern armies last week accused each other of launching attacks in Abyei. North Sudan says it sent in troops to clear out southern soldiers who it said had broken agreements by entering the area. South Sudan's government sees it as a ploy by Khartoum to provoke war and derail secession. Analysts say Khartoum has lobbied for a referendum on Abyei's future status to be abandoned, built up military forces around the area, supported Misseriya militia and made raids into Abyei. Some see the northern army's move into Abyei as a land grab to prevent it becoming part of the south.
HOW MIGHT THE SOUTHERN GOVERNMENT REACT?
Southerners will be loath to abandon Abyei and set a precedent that might encourage the northern government to seize oil fields and land along a border which has yet to be clearly traced. The region has emotional, symbolic and strategic significance, but analysts say many in the south do not think Abyei is worth fighting for. "This may have changed with the Sudanese Armed Forces' occupation," said Douglas Johnson, a Sudan expert and former member of the Abyei Boundaries Commission.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
Foreign powers may seek to calm tensions through mediation after the northern army's show of force in Abyei, which raises the risk of broader conflict ahead of southern secession. Abyei is seen as a microcosm of all the conflicts that split Sudan for decades. A new border war could open a new front in Darfur and encourage uprisings in other parts of Sudan. The United States and European governments have strongly criticised the northern government's seizure of Abyei, which raises the risk of new sanctions being imposed on Khartoum. China, seen as more indulgent towards Bashir, may also be uneasy as harsher sanctions on the north could threaten its interests in Sudanese oil. (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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