Ethiopia to send peacekeepers to Sudan's Abyei if requested
Men smile as they transport sacks of food looted from a compound belonging to the World Food Programme in Abyei, in this United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) handout photo taken May 24, 2011 and released on May 25, 2011. Tens of thousands of people fled as north Sudanese militias accused of helping seize the contested Abyei border region over the weekend moved further south, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Photo taken May 24, 2011. Reuters

Ethiopia will consider dispatching peacekeepers to the disputed border area of Abyei between north and south Sudan if both Juba and Khartoum lodge a request, a Reuters report said quoting officials.

South Sudan is preparing to declare itself an independent country in less than six weeks but both sides - Khartoum and Juba, are yet to settle issues such as the position of their common border and the sharing of oil proceeds.

If both sides of Sudan, Khartoum and Juba, ask us to send peacekeepers along their border, we will consider the request, Ethiopia's foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told Reuters.

It is within our interests and that of the region to maintain stability in Sudan, he added, declining to comment when asked whether Addis Ababa has already received such a request.

North Sudan has sent tanks and troops into oil producing Abyei on May 21, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee from the area. But both sides agreed to establish a demilitarized zone along the border after talks in Addis Ababa on Monday evening.

Both the sides after the meet on the weekend in Addis Ababa, have agreed to set up a demilitarized zone along the border, the report stated.

Ethiopia Ethiopia Sudan Ethiopia