Aguer said the captured attackers, who clashed with a southern-backed
militia in Unity state, claimed they had been financed and directed by the
Bashir regime. He said Khartoum was sending arms and fighters to Unity and
other areas of the south to provoke violence.
A Jan. 9 referendum to determine the fate of the oil-rich Abyei region
was canceled. But a week-long referendum on whether the south would secede
from the rest of Sudan has begun amid the violence.
"A large number of Misseriya attacked Maker village yesterday [Jan. 9]
backed by government militia," Abyei administration speaker Charles Abyei
said.
Officials said the northern-aligned attacks intensified on the eve of
the Jan. 9 referendum. They said the Bashir regime sent weapons and trainers
to direct Arab militias in the south in attacks that began on Jan. 7.
The United Nations, which has been supervising the referendum, has
confirmed the Khartoum-directed offensive. UN monitors said the Bashir
regime sent a militia to organize the Misseriya tribe to attack the village
of Maker, about 25 kilometers north of Abyei.
Misseriya acknowledged the fighting and blamed southern forces for
blocking the movement of northerners. The Khartoum regime has denied any
involvement in the fighting.
Officials said the fighting between north and south was expected to
intensify over the coming days. They said a soldier of the Khartoum army has
been arrested in the southern Sudanese capital of Juba on charges of storing
700 AK-47 rounds.
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