Clashes break out in Sudan's Abyei region

ABYEI, Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudanese former rebelsfought northern government forces on Wednesday in the disputedoil-rich Abyei region, killing up to four people and sendinghundreds fleeing, south Sudanese and U.N. officials said.

Fighting began near the town of Abyei on Tuesday night, andon Wednesday heavy exchanges of machine gun and mortar firecould be heard from a U.N. base just outside the town in thenorth-south border zone, witnesses said.

They said hundreds of civilians fled the fighting betweennorthern forces and the former rebel Sudan People's LiberationArmy. A helicopter evacuated some aid workers and non-essentialU.N. staff from the area.

"Some of the SPLA soldiers and the Sudanese Armed Forceswere fighting in the market," said Moussa Malei, deputyadministrator of Abyei, adding that two people were killed onTuesday.

Analysts say that Abyei, often called the "Kashmir" ofSudan's north-south conflict and coveted by both sides, couldbe the flash point to reignite civil war if its status is notresolved amicably and quickly.

Under a 2005 agreement that ended more than 20 years ofnorth-south civil war, Abyei town is to be guarded by specialjoint units of northern and southern soldiers.

A U.N. official said fighting in Abyei had worsened onWednesday after a Sudanese government soldier was killed. "Thatseemed to cause the escalation," the official said, speaking oncondition of anonymity.

A diplomatic source said the fighting had stemmed from anincident on Tuesday when SPLA forces detained a northerngovernment soldier and some civilians, leading to an argumentin which a northern soldier was shot.

The source said an SPLA soldier was killed on Wednesday:"There are gunshots in town, heavy gunfire and mortars."

Commanders from both sides were meeting U.N. staff toresolve their issues, Malei said.

Sudan's ruling National Congress Party accused formersouthern rebels in April of stirring up tensions in Abyei byunilaterally appointing a governor, saying it violated thenorth-south ceasefire.

South Sudan's government at the time accused the northernarmy of sending troops into Abyei, capital of the state.

The deadlock over Abyei shows the difficulties implementingthe north-south deal that ended a war which killed 2 million.The peace deal granted semi-autonomous status to south Sudan.

Under the 2005 peace accord residents of Abyei will choseto join the north or south in 2011, when the entire south willvote on secession from the north.

(Additional reporting by Opheera McDoom in Khartoum;Writing by Will Rasmussen; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)