On Tuesday, Amnesty International (AI) criticized UN peacekeepers in southern Sudan for deliberately refusing to intervene, to prevent the occupation of Abyei by rival militias and the Sudanese army in May.

Amnesty International were the first organisation to visit Abyei following those events.

Donatella Rovera leading the AI envoy said that the Sudanese army and militias have expelled all inhabitants of Abyei town, and burned down their homes to prevent their return.

'Houses were burned and buildings looted, Abyei is now a ghost town,' said Rovera.

The Sudanese army spokesman, Col. Al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad dismissed AI's charges and stated the Sudanese soldiers 'did not expel anyone from Abyei as they exist only to protect civilians.'