Sudan Postpones Abyei Meeting

Sudan Postpones Abyei Meeting

Officials from North and South Sudan have postponed a meeting intended to resolve the status of the country's oil-producing Abyei region, ahead of a referendum on its future.

The talks, earlier scheduled to hold on October 27 in Addis Ababa, to be chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, had hoped to address the status of Abyei, on whether it will join North or South Sudan.

The vote on Abyei, which straddles the border between North and South Sudan, is due to be held on January 9, 2011, the day southern Sudan votes on whether or not to secede from the north.

Delay reason

Speaking after a meeting with President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Monday, Mbeki said that since the mediators are still involved in the process of preparing for the vote, the meeting will certainly not take place on the scheduled date.

He expressed hopes that the talks will happen soon.

Compromise not reached

One Sudanese official, who declined to be named, said north and south Sudan, which signed a peace deal in 2005 ending Africa's longest running civil war, could not reach a compromise on Abyei.

Failure to agree such a compromise will raise concerns of unrest ahead of the southern referendum, which most analysts expect to result in secession.

Abyei's administrator has rejected a US compromise to split Abyei in two with north and south each taking a section.

There has been disagreement between the ruling parties in north and south over who will lead the commission to plan the Abyei vote and who will be allowed to vote in the plebiscite.

REUTERS/Williams/Yinka