70,000 people flee from the violence in the oil region Abyei, which is being fought over in South Sudan

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) warned on Wednesday of a new refugee drama in South Sudan . Some 70,000 South Sudanese have fled since the beginning of heavy fighting on 14^th May in the oil region of Abyei from the town with the same name, which has been largely destroyed. "There remains only one month to provide the refugees with the bare necessities of life", said the GfbV Africa expert, Ulrich Delius. "When the rains start in July the provision of aid for many refugees can only be organised by air, and this is extremely difficult." In the face of the violent fighting many international aid organisations have already had to leave the region.

The GfbV sees scant hope of a rapid end to the conflict between North and South Sudan over the controversial region of Abyei and of a rapid return of the refugees to their home villages. On the contrary, the fighting has escalated in the past two weeks to the most serious conflict in South Sudan since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005. It has not so far been possible to reach an agreement on the border-line through the rich oil area.

"The fighting means now not only an acute danger for the survival of tens of thousands of people, but also for the whole peace process for South Sudan ", said Delius. Oil has turned once again into a curse for the Sudanese civilian population because it is sparking off a new armed conflict.