Sudan: At least 20 die in shootout in border area

Published May 05, 2013

Associated Press

KHARTOUM, Sudan –  Sudan and the U.N. say a shootout in a disputed oil-rich border region has left at least 20 people dead, including at least one Ethiopian U.N. peacekeeper and a tribal chief traveling with them.

Khartoum's Interior Ministry in a statement carried by Sudan's media on Sunday said 21 were killed in Abyei district, including Koul Deng Majok , an ethnic Ngok Dinka from neighboring South Sudan, two peacekeepers, and 17 members of the Misseriya tribe.

It said Majok's tribe had failed to inform Misseriya tribesmen they would be visiting the area.

The UN said earlier that Majok and one peacekeeper were killed in the Saturday incident that apparently pitted Dinka farmers against Misseriya herders.

Abyei is a sticking point between Sudan and South Sudan.

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Report: Gbagbo apparently received aid from Sudan

Published April 26, 2013

Associated Press

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast –  A new report from a U.N. expert panel suggests former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo received substantial ammunition transfers from Sudan as he clung to power during postelection violence two years ago.

The country's U.N. peacekeeping mission has found "several tens of thousands of rounds" of ammunition for assault rifles believed to have been produced in Sudan in 2010 and 2011, according to the report.

Thursday's report also includes a July 2010 memorandum signed by Gbagbo's political party and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party that pledges security cooperation, including "mutual assistance in case of external foreign interference."

Gbagbo refused to leave office after losing the November 2010 runoff vote to current President Alassane Ouattara, sparking five months of violence that killed thousands.

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