96,000 displaced in North South Sudan conflict: UN

Smoke rises from burnt homes in the town of Abyei in this handout photo released by the United Nations mission in Sudan on May 23, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183720.html

The United Nations says the tense situation in the border region of Abyei between North and South Sudan has displaced 96,000 people.

“As of 5 June, the estimated number of people to be displaced by the Abyei violence was 96,000 people,” the UN's humanitarian office said.

“The situation in Abyei over the weekend was reported to be tense and unpredictable with reports of sporadic gunfire, and tukuls (traditional thatched huts) being burnt,” AFP quoted the UN office as saying on Tuesday.

According to reports, northern troops seized the oil-producing region on May 21, two days after the southern forces attacked a convoy of northern troops, killing 22 people.

The 'humanitarian crisis' in Abyei comes “in the middle of the hunger period” in the South which is between March and August. Tens of thousands of people lessen their consumption until the South's first harvest.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees says more than 300,000 southerners who used to live in the North have returned to the South, adding to the woes of the fledging government.

Meanwhile, clashes between the Southern and Northern armies in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state, has claimed the lives of six people, the UN sources said on Tuesday.

“At one of the hospitals we visited, we saw six dead bodies, four of whom were government of Sudan police, and the other two civilians... Earlier we saw about 3,000 people taking refuge at the Kadugli police hospital,” Hua Jiang, spokeswoman for the United Nations Mission in Sudan said.

South Kordofan is situated in the North Sudan and is the only oil-rich state in the country.