Sudan army says moving on oil town seized by South
Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:47pm GMT
* Sudan vowed to hit back if south does not leave oilfield
* African Union wants immediate withdrawal of south's troops
* Fears of resumption of war almost a year after Sudan split (Adds Sudan
army says it is advancing)
By Ulf Laessing and Khalid Abdelaziz
JUBA/KHARTOUM, April 13 (Reuters) - Sudan's army said it was advancing on
the disputed town of Heglig on Friday in an attempt to oust South Sudanese
forces from the oil-producing area after the south said it would withdraw
only if the United Nations intervened.
Fighting between Sudan and South Sudan this week has brought the two closer
to a resumption of full-blown conflict, nine months after the south seceded
under a peace deal that ended decades of civil war.
South Sudan seized the Heglig oilfield near the border on Tuesday, sparking
widespread condemnation. The African Union denounced the occupation as
illegal and urged the two sides to avert a "disastrous" war.
Heglig, which the south claims as its own, is vital to Sudan's economy
because it has a field accounting for about half of its 115,000 barrel-a-day
oil output. The fighting has stopped crude production there, officials say.
Sudan's military, which has vowed to strike back if the South's army (SPLA)
did not withdraw, said its forces were on the outskirts of Heglig and
pushing forward. "The armed forces are advancing toward Heglig town,"
military spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad told reporters in Khartoum.
"The situation in Heglig will be resolved within hours."
South Sudanese armed forces spokesman Philip Aguer said he had not received
reports of fighting in Heglig on Friday, but that the situation there should
become clearer on Saturday.
"If they are advancing, the SPLA is ready to defend itself and its
territories," he said by phone. "When they (Sudan's army) were pushed out of
the area, they were occupying it by force, so if they want to come back by
force, they can try it."
Speaking in Nairobi, Pagan Amum, South Sudan's lead negotiator at talks to
resolve the dispute with Sudan, said his country was ready to withdraw under
a U.N.-mediated plan.
"On the ground, we are ready to withdraw from Heglig as a contested area ...
provided that the United Nations deploy a U.N. force in these contested
areas and the U.N. also establish a monitoring mechanism to monitor the
implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement," he told
reporters.
Amum said there were seven disputed areas and called for international
arbitration to end the dispute over these regions.
DAMAGED FACILITIES
The loss of Heglig's oil output is another blow to Sudan's economy, which
was already struggling with rising food prices and a currency depreciating
on the black market.
Amum said the Heglig facilities were "largely" damaged by fighting, but did
not give details.
"Resumption of oil in that area will only come when the U.N. deploy their
forces between the two countries and in the disputed areas and when the two
countries reach agreement to resume oil production," he said.
Landlocked South Sudan shut down its own 350,000 barrel-per-day oil output
in January in a row over how much it should pay to export crude via
pipelines and facilities in Sudan.
Oil accounted for about 98 percent of the new nation's state revenues and
officials have been scrambling for ways to make up for the loss.
In Juba, about 200 people demonstrated at a government-organised protest
against Sudan and in support of the occupation of Heglig, holding banners
which read: "The people want the army to be in Heglig" and "They bomb
children and women".
The U.N. Security Council on Thursday added its voice to the chorus of
demands that Sudan and South Sudan stop the clashes. Sudan's U.N. ambassador
said South Sudan must heed the call or Khartoum would "hit deep inside the
south."
The African Union, which had been helping mediate talks between the two
countries over oil payments and other disputed issues before Khartoum pulled
out on Wednesday, also condemned the south's occupation of Heglig.
"The Council is dismayed by the illegal and unacceptable occupation by the
South Sudanese armed forces of Heglig, which lies north of the agreed border
line of 1st January, 1956," African Union Peace and Security Council
Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra told reporters after a meeting late on
Thursday.
The south seceded from Khartoum's rule last year but the two sides have not
agreed on issues including the position of the border, the division of the
national debt and the status of citizens in each other's territory.
Some 2 million people died in Sudan's civil war, fought for decades over
ideology, religion, ethnicity and oil. (Additional reporting Yara Bayoumy in
Nairobi and Aaron Maasho in Addis Ababa; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz and
James Macharia; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
KHARTOUM, April 14 (Reuters) - South Sudan said on Saturday it had repulsed
an attempt by the Sudanese army to retake the disputed oil-producing border
area of Heglig, which the southern army seized earlier this week.
Fighting between Sudan and South Sudan this week has brought the two closer
to a resumption of full-blown conflict, nine months after the south seceded
under a peace deal that ended decades of civil war.
South Sudan seized the Heglig oilfield near the border on Tuesday, prompting
widespread condemnation. The African Union denounced the occupation as
illegal and urged the two sides to avert a "disastrous" war.
The Sudanese army said late on Friday its forces were advancing on Heglig
town, an area vital to Sudan's economy because it has a field accounting for
about half of its 115,000 barrel a day oil output. The fighting has stopped
crude production there, officials say.
"They tried to attack our positions around 40 miles north of Heglig last
night but it was contained," South Sudanese Information Minister Barnaba
Marial Benjamin told Reuters. "Heglig is (still) under our control," he
said.
Sudanese army spokesman al-Sawarmi Khalid did not answer his mobile phone
when Reuters called on Saturday.
South Sudan has said it will withdraw from Heglig only if the United Nations
deploys forces to monitor a ceasefire.
Much of the 1,800 km (1,200 mile) border is disputed between the neighbours,
which are also in dispute over payments for southern oil passing through
Sudan, the lifeline of both economies.
Landlocked South Sudan took three quarters of the former Sudan's oil
production when it seceded, but shut down in January its entire output of
350,000 barrels a day after failing to agree how much it should pay to
export its crude through Sudan.
The south seceded from Sudan last year but the two sides have not resolved
issues including the position of the border, the division of the national
debt and the status of citizens in each other's territory.
Some 2 million people died in the civil war, fought for decades over
ideology, religion, ethnicity and oil. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing and
Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Tim Pearce)
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Received on Sun Apr 15 2012 - 05:30:50 EDT
