Residents of disputed Abyei choose South Sudan in referendum

In an unofficial referendum, residents of a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan said they want to join South Sudan.

The outcome, announced Wednesday, is no surprise since the residents who voted beginning Sunday are aligned with South Sudan. Zachariah Deng Majok, a member of the Abyei Referendum High Committee, said more than 99 percent of votes went for South Sudan.

Both Sudan and South Sudan claim ownership of oil-rich Abyei, whose status was unresolved after South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011.

The region’s majority Ngok Dinka people favor South Sudan. The Sudan-allied Misseriya nomads, who come to Abyei to find pasture for their cattle, did not vote.

An African Union panel proposed a referendum for Abyei, however, there was disagreement over who could vote.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press