South Sudan accuses north of trouble

KHARTOUM, Sudan, March 14 (UPI) -- Authorities in South Sudan accused the north of backing rebel groups when it announced it was walking away from bilateral talks with Khartoum.

Pagan Amum, secretary-general of the south's Sudan People's Liberation Movement, announced during the weekend the government in Juba suspended talks with its northern counterparts in Khartoum.

"They have stepped up their destabilization of southern Sudan by creating, training and arming and financing various militia groups in southern Sudan," he was quoted in The Guardian newspaper in London as saying.

The National Congress party of Sudanese President Omar Bashir said the claims were "ridiculous." More fighting could be disputed in the oil-rich region of Abyei if the status there isn't resolved, he warned.

At least 40 people were killed during the most recent fighting in the area.

Voters in Abyei didn't take part in the January referendum for South Sudan's independence and will vote at an unspecified date on what side they want to join.

The referendum came from a 2005 peace deal that ended a brutal civil war in the country. Fighting in late February between rival Sudanese nomad groups killed at least 10 people in the oil-rich region.

Though South Sudan is set to become an independent nation in July, matters such as border demarcation and the rights to natural resources remain to be settled.