JUBA, Sudan, June 1 (UPI) -- The United Nations should have a presence in both parts of Sudan to secure the de facto border region, an official from South Sudan said.
Ethiopia said it would send more peacekeepers to the de facto Sudanese border region of Abyei as the U.N. Security Council debates its operations in Sudan.
Humanitarian officials from South Sudan said an estimated 150,000 people have fled the border region out of security concerns. Soldiers from the Sudanese government seized the region in May.
Abyei lies along the expected border between Sudan and South Sudan, which is to become an independent nation in July.
Ezekiel Gatkuoth, a high-ranking official in South Sudan, told the BBC that U.N. peacekeepers should be on both sides of the border to fully address security concerns.
"We were asking for (a) more than 7,000 U.N. peacekeeping force," he said. "Then we have asked for the U.N. to do a consultation with the governors of southern Sudan so that we can have a new mission with responsibility to monitor the border and also protect civilians."
South Sudan becomes an independent state in July following a referendum in January. Abyei was to take part in the vote, part of a comprehensive peace deal in 2005, but was left out because of voter eligibility issues.
