Release International

The disputed border town of Abyei has been the scene of fierce fighting between former southern rebels and the northern army.

Northern and southern fighters first clashed in Abyei on May 13, prompting up to 50,000 people – most of the town's population – to flee. Fighting reportedly began when northern troops attacked with heavy artillery: the town's marketplace was virtually destroyed in the crossfire. The UN, which has up to 40 peacekeepers in the area, was forced to withdraw non-essential staff.

A week later, heavy fighting broke out again, amid reports that this time the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army had attacked northern soldiers with tanks. Both sides suffered heavy losses, according to the BBC.

Abyei, which lies in oil-rich border territory, is claimed by both the north and the south of Sudan. An administration has still to be set up in Abyei, three years after the Comprehensive Peace Accord which ended a long civil war between the Arab and Muslim north and the mainly Christian or animist south.

Meanwhile, on May 10, rebels from Darfur attacked Omdurman, near Khartoum, in a raid which killed at least 220 people. The violence in recent weeks has raised serious concerns about the prospects of Sudan's precarious peace process.

• Pray for an end to hostilities in Abyei.
  
• Pray for a swift resolution to the vexed question of Sudan's north-south border demarcation which is linked to the distribution of oil revenues.
  

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