Hundreds of Abyei natives who have recently returned to the area are experiencing an “acute shortage of food, shelter, and basic services”, says the South Sudanese Ambassador to Russia. The returnees, he said, expect to vote in a referendum scheduled to kick off on 26 October in which the future of Abyei should be decided.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Ambassador Chol Deng Alak confirmed that “a large number of Abyei natives have returned home with determination and will to vote and determine the future of their land despite hard humanitarian situation they are enduring.”

“They are living in the open, experiencing lack of shelter and acute shortage of food as well as essential services,” according to the diplomat.

He also stressed that “the Abyei referendum comes in accordance to a proposal by the African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP); therefore Khartoum's intransigence is not based on any legal document.”

As reported by Radio Tamazuj, the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan met in Juba this week but they turned a blind eye on the Abyei Referendum issue and focused on the Cooperation Agreement instead.

File photo: Abyei (Radio Tamazuj)

Related: Presidents dodge mention of Abyei referendum (22 October 2013)