JUBA, South Sudan, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- People living in the disputed Abyei region along the border between South Sudan and Sudan are wary of Khartoum's regional intentions, authorities said.
A referendum for Abyei began Sunday. The independent Sudan Tribune reports only one of the two tribes in the region, Ngok Dinka, took part. The Arab Misseriya tribe boycotted the vote. They're allied more closely with the government in Khartoum.
Arop Madut Arop, a South Sudanese lawmaker representing the area, said there was a growing sense of frustration with Sudan's policies in the region.
"Our people are tired of sufferings in the hands of the north [Sudan]," he told the independent Sudan Tribune on Monday.
The status of Abyei was to be determined in 2011. South Sudan's independence in 2011 was secured by a peace deal that ended the region's civil war six years earlier. Border disputes, ethnic conflicts and spats over oil have threatened the fragile peace.
Edward Lino, regional head of South Sudan's army, said the Sudanese government was interfering with the referendum. He said Sudan was interested in delays for the sake of securing its oil interests.
Both sides nearly went to war last year over oil fields along the border.
Referendum results are expected Thursday.
