Abyei

Abyei is a special administrative area located on the border between Sudan and South Sudan.

It holds a unique legal status known as a condominium. This means the area is considered part of both the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan at the same time. The main center of this region is Abyei Town. The status of this land is a major point of disagreement between the two nations. This disagreement stems from historical borders, ethnic identities, and the presence of valuable oil resources.

The region has been home to different groups for a long time. The Ngok Dinka are agro-pastoralists who are permanent residents of the area. They are a sub-group of the Dinka people from Southern Sudan. The Messiria are a nomadic Arab people who live mostly in northern South Kurdufan. During the dry season, the Messiria move their cattle south to the Bahr river basin in Abyei.

Because of these seasonal movements, the Messiria often outnumber the Dinka during certain parts of the year. This creates a complex social dynamic between settled residents and nomadic travelers.

Historical changes to the borders began in 1905 during the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium. At that time, the British redistricted nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms into the province of Kordofan. The British had three main reasons for this change. First, they wanted to protect the Ngok Dinka from raids by the Messiria. Second, they wanted to show that a new sovereign power was in control. Third, they wanted to bring the two groups under one common administration. However, when the British left in 1956, the official status of Abyei remained unclear.

This uncertainty led to many years of conflict and civil wars. During the First Sudanese Civil War, violence between the groups increased. In 1965, a massacre of 72 Ngok Dinka occurred in the Messiria town of Babanusa. Later, the discovery of oil led the government to try and move oil-rich areas into northern administration. During the Second Sudanese Civil War, the two groups took different sides. Many Ngok Dinka joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). In contrast, the Messiria joined the side of the government in the mid-1980s. These conflicts caused intense fighting and displaced many people from their homes.

To resolve these issues, leaders signed the 2004 Abyei Protocol. This was part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. The protocol gave Abyei a special administrative status. It also called for an Abyei Borders Commission (ABC) to define the area's boundaries. This commission consisted of 15 people. Five were appointed by the government, five by the SPLA, and three by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. One person was appointed by the United States and one by the United Kingdom. The five impartial experts were responsible for presenting the final report.

The ABC determined the boundary at approximately 10°22′30″N. This line was about 87 kilometers north of Abyei Town. However, the Sudanese government rejected this report in July 2005. They argued that the experts used sources from after 1905. This rejection led to renewed tensions and armed violence. In 2007 and 2008, clashes broke out between the SPLA and Messiria fighters. There were also clashes between the SPLA and government troops. These battles caused many deaths and forced about 25,000 civilians to flee. Some reports stated that much of Abyei Town was destroyed during this period.

In June 2008, the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan sought a new solution. They agreed to take the boundary dispute to international arbitration. They chose the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. This legal process was meant to redraw the boundaries through a formal court decision. While a referendum was originally planned to let the people choose their country, it was never held. Today, the region remains a central part of the political relationship between Sudan and South Sudan.