Abyei's Ngok Dinka Tribe Votes to Join South Sudan
A man waves a South Sudanese flag as he celebrates referendum results in the town of Abyei, Oct. 31, 2013.
Residents in the Abyei region claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan have voted to be part of the south, although neither country's government is recognizing the poll.
Results of an unofficial referendum, released Thursday, show the vast majority of the region's Ngok Dinka ethnic group favor an alliance with South Sudan.
However, the region's other major ethnic group, the nomadic Misseriya tribe, did not participate in the vote. Leaders of the Misseriya, which are allied with Sudan, have said they would not recognize the results.
Abyei Referendum High Committee member Zachariah Deng Majok told VOA on Thursday that more than 99 percent of voters had chosen South Sudan during the three-day referendum that began Sunday.
Only 12 voters out of nearly 65,000 favored joining Sudan.
The status of the 10,000-square-kilometer Abyei region has been in limbo since the signing of a 2005 peace agreement that ended a 20-year civil war in the once-unified Sudan.
A referendum on Abyei was originally set for January 2011. However, Sudan and South Sudan were unable to agree on who was eligible to vote. South Sudan said it was unwilling to include the nomadic Misseriya tribe in the polling.
The Abyei region is prized by both countries for its oil reserves and fertile land. It is currently under United Nations' administration.
Abyei Residents Vote on Whether to Join Sudan or South Sudan
Abyei Residents Vote on Whether to Join Sudan or South Sudan
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2/9A man waves a South Sudanese flag as he celebrates referendum results in the town of Abyei, Oct. 31, 2013.
3/9Fans of Argentina's River Plate celebrate before the Copa Sudamericana soccer match finals against Colombia's Atletico Nacional in Buenos Aires, Dec. 10, 2014.
4/9A woman inks her finger after voting in a polling station located in a school in Abyei, Oct. 28, 2013.
5/9Women wait to vote inside a polling station located in a school during a referendum in the town of Abyei, Oct. 28, 2013.
6/9A man pours drinking water at a former school near polling station in Abyei, Oct. 28, 2013.
7/9A man waits inside a mosquito tent in a school to vote near a polling station during a referendum in Abyei, Oct. 27, 2013.
8/9Men wait to vote at a school during a referendum in the town of Abyei, Oct. 27, 2013.
9/9Voters wait in line to cast their vote, as others have their fingers dipped in ink to show they have done so, in an abandoned school used as a polling center in the disputed border region of Abyei, Oct. 27, 2013.
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