Top White House aide John Brennan Wednesday voiced President Barack Obama's "deep concern" to Sudanese leaders at the presence of armed forces in the flashpoint region of Abyei, US officials said.

Obama's top counter-terrorism official visited Khartoum to discuss implementing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the north and the south, as well as Sudan's inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

"Mr Brennan underscored President Obama's deep concern over the continued presence of Sudanese Armed Forces in Abyei and urged a rapid and peaceful resolution to the crisis and to resolving outstanding CPA issues," the White House said in a statement.

Khartoum on Tuesday unveiled new proposals to resolve the crisis in the Abyei border region, including a rotating administration to govern the disputed region and the northern army staying on until a referendum.

Northern troops and tanks overran the bitterly contested region on May 21 in response to a deadly attack two days earlier on an army convoy in northern Abyei, in which at least 22 soldiers were killed.

The southern government has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the north's troops, while President Omar al-Bashir insists Abyei is "north Sudanese land."

Brennan was accompanied by the US special envoy to Sudan, Princeton Lyman, who will remain in the region to work with the African Union and United Nations to resolve the crisis, the White House said.

earlier related report
US disturbed by media crackdown in Egypt: Clinton
Washington (AFP) June 1, 2011 - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday expressed concern over the crackdown on the media and others under Egypt's military rulers who have pledged to steer the country toward democracy.

"We are disturbed by the reports of efforts to crack down on journalists, and bloggers and judges and others," the chief US diplomat told reporters.

She said US officials do not think such a crackdown is "in keeping with the direction that the Egyptian people were heading when they started out in Tahrir Square," the epicenter of the pro-democracy movement in January and February.

Two Egyptian journalists and a blogger were questioned for three hours on Tuesday by military officials over criticism of the army on a live talk show, they said.

Reem Maged and Nabil Sharafeddine, the two reporters, and prominent blogger and activist Hossam al-Hamalawy were questioned by Adel Morsi, who heads the military justice authority.

Maged told reporters the questioning did not take place in the framework of an investigation but that the army had sought to "clarify" certain statements on her talk show "Baladna mil Masry."

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