4,000 UN Peacekeepers for Abyei Region

From South Sudan; The United States has introduced a UN resolution that would deploy a 4,200-strong Ethiopian peacekeeping force to Sudan's disputed Abyei region, the scene of heavy fighting in recent weeks.
Susan Rice, US ambassador to the UN, said the resolution will support an agreement signed on Monday by the Khartoum-based government in the north, and the government of south Sudan, to demilitarise the contested border region.
Both parties have agreed to allow Ethiopian peacekeepers in. Rice told reporters that the two parties requested the troops to be deployed under UN auspices and called for swift adoption of the resolution by the Security Council so they can get on the ground in Abyei immediately.
The demilitarisation deal is "fragile", and a deployment of 4,200 peacekeepers will enable it to be "implemented immediately and effectively".
Under the 2005 peace agreement which ended Sudan's civil war, the region was granted special status and in 2008, a joint administration was set up to run it. A vote on Abyei's future had been scheduled to take place in January - at the same time as the independence referendum - but was postponed indefinitely.
The violence in Abyei and neighbouring south Kordofan comes as south Sudan prepares to declare independence from the north on July 9, the culmination of a 2005 peace deal.
The north's invasion of the Abyei region and takeover of the town of Abyei was triggered by an attack on May 19 on northern and UN troops by southern soldiers. On 21 May, the north sent troops into the region, sparking international condemnation and fears of a new civil war.
John Temin, of the United States Institute of Peace, told Al Jazeera that: "It is important to be very clear that this is a temporary agreement that was reached. The fundamental question of whether Abyei is part of north or south remains unresolved and we are no where closer to resolving that question as a result of this agreement."
What this agreement does is remove some of the northern troops who moved into Abyei several week ago and put in Ethiopan troops to try and calm the situation, Temin said.
Abyei tensions
While south Sudan's independence is expected to take place on schedule, crucial issues remain unresolved. The areas of debate include: the future of Abyei, which is supposed to be decided in a referendum; the north-south border demarcation; how oil revenues and other resources will be shared; and citizenship.
Violence began in south Kordofan earlier this month when Sudan's military attacked a black community aligned with Sudan's south.
The UN says that about 10,000 people have fled the region to escape the violence.