Thousands flee violence in Sudan: UN

KHARTOUM (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 Tuesday.A senior southern minister in the Khartoum government resigned, protesting against what he called war crimes committed by the northern army which had moved tanks into the main regional town over the weekend after weeks of tensions.Analysts fear north-south fighting over Abyei could reignite a full-blown conflict in Africa’s largest country, a move that could have a devastating impact on the surrounding region.Southerners voted in January for independence in a referendum agreed under a 2005 peace deal but Abyei remains the most contentious point in the build-up to secession on July 9.Khartoum has defied calls by the UN Security Council and world powers to withdraw its forces from Abyei, which has oil and fertile grazing land.UN officials said between 15,000 and 20,000 people fled Abyei and arrived in or around Agok, a town just across the southern border.”The situation is very volatile and fluid,” said Elizabeth Byrs of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.