Leaders of the Dinka Ngok and Misseriya Arabs signed an accord in the South Kordofan state capital Kadugli that addressed the sensitive issues of migration, compensation for past violence and the spread of weapons in the disputed border district.
"This is a step forward. We agreed to work for peace," the paramount chief of the Dinka Ngok, Kuol Deng Kuol, said after two days of UN-facilitated talks.
Misseriya tribal chief Hamid Al-Ansari said: "This meeting has broken the tensions between the Dinka and the Misseriya. Now we are sitting together and eating together and we are no longer afraid of each other."
The Misseriya said they had lost 14 dead in clashes with the pro-southern Dinka during the past week. The Dinka said they had lost between 23 and 24 from Friday to Sunday in the latest fighting over the disputed district.
Abyei had been due to hold a plebiscite on its own future alongside this week's landmark southern independence referendum, but it has been indefinitely postponed in the face of deadlock between north and south over who should be eligible to take part.
The Misseriya, who migrate to Abyei each dry season to find water and pasture for their livestock, insist they should have the same right to vote as the pro-southern Dinka, who live there all year.
South Kordofan Deputy Gov. Abdul Aziz Al-Hilu witnessed the signing of Thursday's agreement. "The main point of this agreement is the freedom of movement, especially for the returnees who are going back to Abyei, the flow of goods and commerce and the freedom of the cattle herders, as well as the reduction of arms," he said.
He added that the future status of Abyei was the responsibility of the leadership of the SPLM and the National Congress Party of Sudanese President Omar Bashir which are due to meet in Kadugli on Sunday.
Carter called on the international community to forgive Sudan's $39 billion debt burden so that dividing it between the north and south won't become another issue to resolve after southern Sudan likely votes to become a new nation.
