UPDATE 4-Armed looters burn Sudan's disputed Abyei town--U.N.

* Looters torch main town in Sudan's Abyei, U.N. says

* Abyei is flashpoint for possible north-south conflict

* South Sudan to secede from north on July 9

(Adds Bashir comments, paragraphs 2, 14-15)

By Ulf Laessing

KHARTOUM, May 23 (Reuters) - Armed looters set fire to parts of Sudan's disputed Abyei border town on Monday, the United Nations said, days after north Sudanese troops seized it, pushing the north and south closer to conflict.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said the north wanted a peaceful solution but the army stayed put in all the territory it took, defying demands from the U.N. Security Council and drawing sharp criticism from the United States.

South Sudan accused Khartoum of trying to provoke war and prevent the oil-rich south from becoming an independent country after it voted to break away from the north in a January referendum agreed under a 2005 peace deal.

Analysts fear north-south fighting over Abyei could reignite a full blown conflict in Africa's largest country, a move that could have a devastating impact on the surrounding region.