SUDAN: Abyei timeline

Photo: Timothy Mckulka/UNMIS

SPLA soldiers on patrol in Abyei. Fierce fighting broke out in May 2008 (file photo)

NAIROBI, 21 July 2009 (IRIN) - The following is a timeline for the Abyei boundary dispute.

1905
An area inhabited by the Ngok Dinka people is transferred from the administration of Bahr al-Ghazal province to Kordofan province and becomes known as Abyei. What is in dispute is the size of the region.

1956
Sudan gains independence from Anglo-Egyptian rule; first civil war breaks out, the Ngok Dinka align themselves with the southern rebels.

1972
Civil war ends with Addis Ababa Agreement. Abyei is promised a referendum on whether to join the Southern Region.

1983
Second civil war breaks out, in part because the referendum never takes place. Abyei is close to one of the frontlines between north and south.

2002
Peace talks reach a milestone with the signing of the Machakos Protocol in Kenya. This promises the south significant autonomy, a referendum and self-determination but leaves the issue of Abyei unresolved.

2004
An Abyei protocol drafted by US diplomats is signed between the Sudan government and rebel SPLM/A, clearing a significant stumbling block in the wider north-south peace process. It provides for another referendum. Abyei’s border remains undefined.

2005
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement formally ends the second civil war; Abyei Boundaries Commission hears testimony from all stakeholders and issues ruling on the path of the boundary (July). Government in Khartoum rejects the ruling, claiming the ABC overstepped its mandate.

2007
Deadlock over Abyei’s administration and other issues leads the SPLM to temporarily pull out of Government of National Unity (October). This follows a standoff between SPLA and Government forces in Abyei in September. Abyei lacks an effective administration.

2008
Abyei town razed (May) in the worst of several clashes since December 2007. In June an agreement is reached to hand the border dossier over to a specially convened tribunal sitting at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, whose decision will be binding on both parties.

2009
Permanent Court of Arbitration begins hearings in April; ruling scheduled for 22 July.

am/bp/mw/oa

See also:

Assurances and tension ahead of key Abyei ruling
Abyei briefing