UNITED NATIONS, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy in Sudan Friday welcomed an agreement on ending the deadly fighting between government forces and former rebels in the disputed Abyei area, which has forced thousands of people to flee home this week.

    The government and the rebels had reached agreement on halting clashes under the mediation of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) on Thursday, said Ashraf Qazi, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Sudan.

    Qazi urged both sides to respect all provisions of the agreement, including an immediate ceasefire and the removal of other armed groups from Abyei, which lies on the border between northern and southern Sudan. He also called for the full protection of civilians and civilian installations.

    "The latest development in Abyei, whose complex problems represent one of the most difficult challenges facing the successful implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) in Sudan, underscores the importance of fully implementing the Abyei protocol," he said.

    Abyei, an oil-rich area near the boundary between north and south Sudan contested by the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), has been one of the main stumbling blocks to the implementation of the CPA, which ended more than two decades of conflict in the country.