evidence: ABYEI OVERVIEW AND DISPLACEMENT DYNAMICS The Abyei Administrative Area (AAA) is a territory of 10,546 km2 bordering Sudan and South Sudan and disputed by the two countries. While the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement mandated a referendum to determine Abyei’s permanent status, the vote has yet to be held due to disputes over who qualities to vote and composition of the Abyei Referendum Commission. [...] Those tensions have been exacerbated by national politics that have made Abyei a contested area following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 that would eventually lead to South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011. The relationship between the communities has been subsumed by the struggle between the countries to the north and south. The Dinka-Ngok have strong cultural and political ties to the Government of South Sudan while the Misseriya have supported the interests of the Government of Sudan. Competition over Abyei between the two capitals (Juba and Khartoum) is linked to maintaining loyalties of their respective communities and the impact that these communities have on national politics. Serious fighting in 2007 to 2008 in the area led to the displacement of up to 25,000 people from the central part of Abyei including Abyei town to areas south of river Kiir in Agok and surrounding villages.