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Africa Horn |
Arbitration for SudanŽs Abyei begins |
2009-04-19 |
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague started hearing a dispute Saturday between north and south Sudan over the contested oil-rich Abyei region at the heart of a fragile peace pact. "Everybody in Sudan has a vested interest in the outcome of this arbitration," Riek Machar Teny, deputy chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) told the court on the first of six days of hearings. The southern SPLM and the government in the north asked the court last year for "final and binding arbitration" on the issue. This followed a pact concluded last June to end a dispute over Abyei and allow for the return of tens of thousands who had fled fighting there the month before. |
Posted by:Fred |