UNITED NATIONS (AFP) ? The United States on Thursday proposed a draft UN Security Council resolution to send a 4,200-strong Ethiopian peacekeeping force to the disputed Sudanese territory of Abyei.
But the United States' UN envoy Susan Rice dismissed assertions by the Khartoum government that a provisional peace accord made between the rival north and south Sudan governments had placed Abyei with the north.
Rice said the resolution was sent to other members of the 15 member Security Council on Thursday. She warned while a vote was urgently needed it would probably take several days to organize.
Khartoum government troops occupied Abyei on May 21 and tens of thousands of people have since fled to the south. The Sudanese government and southern Sudan government reached an accord on Monday under which the border territory will be demilitarized.
Rice said the accord was "urgent and fragile" and a council vote would need decisions by several governments, "so while we are moving swiftly I don't think it is realistic to assume that it will happen overnight."
The 4,200 Ethiopian troops, operating under a UN mandate, will be four times the number of UN forces currently in Abyei.
The Khartoum government has said that Monday's accord locates the disputed region in the north but Rice said "there is no such assumption or understanding."
"That is not the view of any recognized entity. Nor is it the substance of the interim agreement."
The final status of Abyei is one of a host of disputes and deals to be settled between the two sides before Southern Sudan formally declares itself independent on July 9.
The Security Council meanwhile passed a statement calling on all sides in the Darfur conflict in Sudan "urgently to resolve their differences" and reach a permanent ceasefire.
Some rebel groups took part in talks with the Sudanese government in Qatar but the United Nations has reported more intensive fighting in recent weeks. The conflict between rebel groups and the Khartoum government is estimated to have left at least 300,000 dead since it started in 2003, according to UN figures.
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