“It has the potential to be catastrophic because, if the Northern forces go further into the South, then we could be looking at a return to full blown civil war,” John O’Shea of GOAL told RTÉ.
“Abyei is a disputed area. There is oil there and there is an attachment by the people of the south who think it is theirs but the northern people think it is their town.”
However, he added that there are good signs that the negotiated agreement will not be allowed slip away.
“The international community has worked very hard to get these two sides to the table.”
GOAL’s work in Sudan, came to prominence in July 2009 when two of its workers, Sharon Commins and her colleague Hilda Kawuki, were kidnapped from the Darfur region.
The humanitarian organisation has safety concerns for staff since violence between troops escalated.
In a statement issued on Monday it said, “GOAL has decided to withdraw its entire staff from the location due to concerns for their safety. Abyei town, and its surrounding area, has become the flashpoint for continued North and South Sudan tensions as Southern Sudan prepares for full independence in July 2011. GOAL has taken the view that until such time that the two warring factions have decided on a peaceful and permanent settlement for the region, the organisation will not be returning.”
In the Abyei area, which borders the northern and southern regions, the violence has meant that the residents have evacuated, Fides has reported.
A priest from Abyei said, "According to a UN press release, there are approximately 50 thousand IDPs [displaced people] from the area, between Abyei town and surrounding villages. It is a humanitarian disaster, because these people are without assistance. The forces from the north have conquered Abyei after having bombed it for two days with heavy weapons.”
The occupation of Abyei by the Northern troops has been condemned by the European Union and the UN Security Council, which has asked the Sudanese government for the immediate withdrawal from the area.
However the authorities said they responded to an ambush to their military convoy that was under UNMIS (the UN Mission in Sudan) escort. They stated that the army of South Sudan (South People Liberation Army) was responsible for the ambush and several deaths.
Abyei, is rich in oil and is disputed between north and south Sudan, in addition it is also the grazing area for some nomadic tribes that live between the north and south.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 by the central government in Khartoum and the then SPLA rebels allowed for the fate of Abyei and surrounding area be decided by a referendum.
There was a vote that decided on the independence of southern Sudan in January but the referendum on Abyei was not held as some questioned voting rights of the many nomads who live in the area at certain times of the year.
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