U.N. scorns attacks in Sudan's Abyei

KHARTOUM, Sudan, May 20 (UPI) -- Attacks on peacekeepers in Sudan's disputed region of Abyei violate the spirit of peace agreements between both parties to the conflict, peacekeepers said.

A convoy of 200 troops engaged in a U.N.-monitored joint police unit was attacked while en route to a patrol area less than 10 miles from the de facto border region of Abyei.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Sudan said the attack violates the terms of the Kadugli and Abyei agreements that call for an integrated police unit there.

"It is also a criminal attack against the United Nations," the mission said in a statement. "UNMIS calls on the parties to immediately investigate the incident and take appropriate action against the perpetrators of this deliberate attack."

Four peacekeepers were shot and wounded near Abyei last week by unknown assailants.

The U.N. Security Council condemned the attack, adding recent skirmishes in the region were in direct violation of a comprehensive peace deal signed in 2005.

The peace deal ended a brutal civil war in Sudan and gave the south the right to choose to form an independent state. Voters in January backed the measure, though Abyei was left out of the process because of voter eligibility issues.