Context
North Sudan won’t pull out of the disputed oil-rich border area of Abyei it seized recently because the region belongs to North Sudan, President Omar Al-Bashir said in a speech Tuesday in the capital Khartoum. He added that he had instructed his forces to reply to any likely “provocation” by the southern Sudanese military. Earlier on Tuesday, US Special Envoy to Sudan Princeton Lyman said Sudan has risked $38bn in debt relief and other forms of incentives by continuing to occupy Abyei, and should instantly resume negotiations on the disputed territory.
