United Nations peacekeepers were deployed on Tuesday in Abyei to prevent renewed looting and burning of the town that straddles the border between North and South Sudan, a UN spokesman said, dpa reported.
A reserve company of the UN mission in Sudan was dispatched to Abyei, which was seized by government troops from Khartoum on Sunday. Looting and burning of properties erupted after the takeover.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said at UN headquarters in New York that "more robust and aggressive" UN patrols were carried out in the area on Tuesday.
"The peacekeepers are patrolling in the Abyei area to deter looting and identify the groups responsible for the incidents," Nesirky said.
The invasion of Abyei by troops from the north was condemned by the UN Security Council and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon because the move violated a peace agreement with South Sudan.
Abyei's political status has remained undecided in the agreement after South Sudan voted in January to secede. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navy Pillay on Tuesday also condemned Khartoum's attack on Abyei and called for both sides to peacefully resolve the crisis.
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