UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called for the Khartoum government and the leading political party in South Sudan to refrain from provocations which would exacerbate the situation in the Abyei region, DPA reported.
Ban said the continued tension in the Abyei area has created a military stand-off, which is "unacceptable," as it has led to deaths of the people there.
The oil-rich Abyei region lies in the border region between North and South Sudan. But South Sudan in January voted to secede from the north while Abyei failed to hold a referendum to decide which side it should join because of differences between the two parts in Sudan.
Ban called on Khartoum' National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the south to refrain from unilateral declarations regarding the ownership of the Abyei area as it jeopardizes the search for a peaceful resolution.
He urged both North and South Sudan to resume and complete negotiations on solving Abyei's future.