KHARTOUM, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) will hold a meeting for Sudan and South Sudan on the disputed Abyei area on May 30, the Sudanese Media Center reported Tuesday.
"We have received an invitation from the AU to attend a meeting for the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC)," Hassan Ali Nimir, head of the AJOC on the part of Sudan, was quoted in the report as saying.
Nimir said the meeting would last for two days and would be attended by the leaders of the native administration of the Dinka Ngok and Messiria tribes.
The AU is mediating between Sudan and South Sudan regarding the disputed oil-rich area Abyei, a border area that is claimed by both countries. It is inhabited mainly by South Sudan's Dinka Ngok tribe and Sudan's Arab Messiria tribe.
Nimir also reiterated the readiness of the Sudanese committee to participate in the meeting.
A referendum had been scheduled in Abyei to decide the fate of the area coincident with the referendum on self-determination for South Sudan in January 2011, which resulted in the separation between the north and the south. However, a vote on the Abyei area did not take place due to differences over who has the right to vote.
