Sudan former foes reach deal on oil-rich Abyei

Sudan's former north-south foes have agreed on an administration for the disputed oil-producing Abyei region, as President Omar al-Bashir on Friday appointed a chief administrator for the contested region where fighting three months ago threatened to reignite a north-south civil war.

"We can state confidently that we have managed to finally clear this hurdle in the way of implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement," northern National Congress Party official Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed told Reuters.

Fighting in Abyei last May between ex-foes, the armed forces of northern and southern Sudan, was seen as the biggest threat to the 2005 peace deal that ended 21 years of civil war after more than 1.5 million people were killed.

After the fighting in May, the two sides agreed to a roadmap to resolve the crisis with a joint force to patrol there and discussions on how the region would be run.

Some 2 million people died in Sudan's north-south war. It is separate from the Darfur conflict in the west of the country.

Bashir’s political partners and former foes in the south immediately welcomed the move, which follows cross-party talks and comes more than three years after a 2005 peace deal called for a joint administration in the volatile area.

Bashir issued a presidential decree naming Arop Moyak, a senior southern military officer, as chief administrator and Rahama Abdel Rahman al-Nour, the local chairman of Bashir's main ruling National Congress Party, as deputy.

He gave them two weeks to name a seven-member administrative council and an additional area council of 20, officials said.

Under a roadmap for Abyei signed on June 8, north and south were to deploy joint military units and appoint an administration to govern the area after that fighting displaced more than 30,000 people and killed at least 89 others.

"I think this is the last hurdle that we had and it's now cleared," Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed, the NCP official responsible for Abyei, told AFP.

"They will begin work immediately... They should first come from Abyei to the presidency to be sworn in. I hope this could take place early next week."

Once the entire administration is in place, it should oversee the return of displaced people and the dispensing of resources pledged by the national unity government and the Sudanese presidency from oil revenue, said Ahmed.