North Sudan seizes disputed Abyei

Sudan's northern army seized control of the disputed, oil-producing Abyei region, forcing thousands to flee and bringing the country's north and south to the brink of full conflict. Khartoum sent tanks into Abyei town, the area's main settlement, on Saturday, the United Nations said after weeks of growing tension and accusations of skirmishes by both sides.

Control over Abyei remains the biggest point of contention in the countdown to the secession of south Sudan, expected in July. Southerners overwhelmingly voted to declare independence from the north in a January referendum , promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war.