evidence: Despite the arbitrary nature of the colonial carving up of Africa, the borders of African states have rarely changed over the preceding decades. Since African states began to gain their independence, they have operated with the hand that was dealt them. Rarely has a secessionist movement been successful, such as Biafra in Nigeria and Cabinda in Angola. The Sudanese civil war was one of the rare conflicts that ended in the creation of a new African state. While the borders between South Sudan and Sudan were agreed, one region was left unallocated. Abyei has remained a disputed territory for well over a decade, with the recent war in Sudan having halted any progress that was being made to finding a resolution. The Abyei area is just over 10,000km² in size and sits between Sudan and South Sudan, almost exactly in the middle of the border. Since South Sudan gained independence in 2011, the two countries have long disputed over who controls the territory. One of the reasons for the dispute is that the region possesses oil in the Deffra fields, making it a lucrative area for either side to control. Furthermore, there is a historic ethnic divide between the nomadic Misseriya tribe and the Ngok Dinka tribe. During the country’s civil war that led to partition, members of the Misseriya community fought in pro-Khartoum militias, while the Ngok Dinka community mainly supported southern rebels. As the two countries split, the initial belief was that the Misseriya would favour remaining as part of Sudan, while the Ngok Dinka would be looking to join the then newly formed South Sudan.