In a briefing in Khartoum on Aug. 1, Arop said the northern regime has
been preparing to destabilize Abyei, Middle East Newsline reported. He said the regime of President Omar
Bashir has recruited a tribe to fight the southern government and was
settling Abyei to influence the referendum.
"The aim is at the very least to influence the referendum with large
numbers or, if they are told they don't have the right to vote, then they
will derail the referendum," Arop said.
So far, the tribe, identified as Missiriya, has brought 75,000 people to
Abyei, officials said. The region was said to contain 100,000 people without
the nomadic tribe.
The Bashir regime has acknowledged the prospect of renewed violence from
Abyei. Bashir adviser, Saleh Gosh, suggested that the referendum might not
resolve the dispute over the region.
"The decision of the international court did not solve this problem and
did not satisfy the needs of the two partners," Gosh said. "The two partners
must find new solutions."
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