Aerial view showing fire at the village of Abyei, Sudan (File)

Officials in Sudan say a joint north-south military force will begindeploying to the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei on Monday.

Thecommander of the new force, Valentino Tokmac, says the force will haveequal numbers of troops from the Sudanese army and from the southernformer rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army. He said the force willnumber more than 600 troops.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashirand southern leader Salva Kiir agreed last week to replace northern andsouthern troops in the town with a new integrated unit.

Thetwo also agreed to seek international arbitration to settle the disputeover Abyei and to give the United Nations free access to the area forthe first time.

Clashes between forces of the northern-basedgovernment and the semi-autonomous south virtually destroyed Abyei lastmonth and displaced tens of thousands of residents.

Analystshave warned the dispute over Abyei could jeopardize the 2005 peaceagreement that ended Sudan's long-running north-south civil war. Thenorth and south also remain split over wealth-and power-sharing issues,and the continued presence of northern troops in the south.

Southern Sudan is scheduled to hold a referendum in 2011 over whether to secede from the rest of the country.