Sudan-UN Convoy Members Missing

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...tary-says.html

Some Sudanese soldiers being escorted by United Nations peacekeepers were missing after an ambush by gunmen in the disputed region of Abyei, according to Sudan’s military.
The Sudanese army accused Southern Sudanese troops of a role in yesterday’s assault and said it reserved the right to respond “in the appropriate time and place,” according to a statement carried by the state-run Sudan News Agency. The Southern Sudanese army dismissed the accusation as false and called for an investigation, the army spokesman, Philip Aguer, said today by phone from Juba, Southern Sudan’s capital.
The peacekeepers were escorting Sudanese troops as they withdrew from the area, Kouider Zerrouk, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping/missions/unmis/ mission in the country, said today by phone from Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. He said he had no information on whether there were casualties and that the attackers’ identities are unknown. The ambush took place about 10 kilometers north of Abyei town, the peacekeeping force said in an e-mailed statement.
Both Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir’s government and the authorities in Southern Sudan, which is due to become independent on July 9, claim Abyei. The two sides agreed to withdraw “all unauthorized forces” from the region by May 17 after clashes this month killed 14 people.
Abyei was scheduled to vote in January on whether to join the south or remain a special administrative region in the north. The referendum was postponed indefinitely because of disagreements over who was eligible to vote.
A two-decade civil war between troops from the government in Khartoum and the southern fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement ended with a peace agreement in 2005.
Abyei is disputed by the region’s Ngok Dinka people, who consider themselves southerners, and Misseriya nomads who herd their cattle south to Abyei in the dry season and are supported by al-Bashir’s government.
Abyei produces less than 2,500 barrels a day, according to Sudan’s Oil Ministry.