Sudanese crude exports threatened

摘要

The rival governments of north and south Sudan signed an accord June 20 on the demilitarization of the disputed Abyei frontier region, according to Thabo Mbeki. The former South African president, who heads an African Union panel mediating on Sudan, said the accord had been signed "in the last hour" before his address to the Security Council by video link from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.He said the accord covered the withdrawal of Sudanese forces and demilitarization of Abyei, which was occupied by the north's army May 21. Tens of thousands of people have since fled, mainly to the south. Mbeki said there was also hope that armies and militias loyal to the two sides would halt conflict in the Sudanese state of South Kordofan, which is also near the border. Tensions have escalated between the two sides ahead of Southern Sudan's declaration of independence July 9.