Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:24:08 +0200
South Sudan says Sudan troops enter Upper Nile state
10 June 2013 Last updated at 10:15 GMT
South Sudan has accused Sudanese troops of crossing into its territory, as
tension between the two states rises.
The troops moved about 10km (six miles) into Upper Nile state, Information
Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said.
On Saturday, Sudan said it would block oil exports from the South after
accusing it of backing rebels fighting President Omar al-Bashir's
government.
But Sudanese officials now say the ban will take effect in 60 days. Oil is
vital to the economies of both states.
South Sudan became independent in 2011 after decades of conflict with
Khartoum and the two neighbours still disagree on several issues.
'Wounded rebels'
South Sudan, which gets 98% of its revenues from oil, has massive deposits
but is landlocked and reliant on Sudan's ports for export.
The two countries have long disputed how much the South should pay to use
Sudan's pipelines.
Mr Benjamin said South Sudan would protest to the African Union (AU) and the
United Nations about Sudan's actions.
"They always violate agreements.... Sudan must be brought to book," he told
the BBC's Newsday programme.
On Sunday, Sudan's intelligence chief Mohammed Atta said South Sudan had
failed to stop supporting rebels operating in Darfur and two border states.
"They [rebels] get supplied with weapons, ammunition, petrol, spare parts
for cars, food... They send their wounded to hospitals in the south. Tens of
wounded [rebels] are now being treated in the South," he said at a press
conference in Khartoum, Reuters news agency reports.
Sudan's Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman said Sudan planned to close
the oil pipelines within 60 days.
However, it would reverse its decision if South Sudan stopped backing the
rebels, he said, Reuters reports.
Correspondents say his comments suggest that Sudan is rowing back from a
report by state media on Saturday that Mr Bashir had given an order to shut
the pipeline.
The Sudanese army is fighting a rebel insurgency in at least three regions.
An umbrella rebel group called the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) has
launched attacks on several towns, briefly occupying the major city of Um
Rawaba in central Sudan in April.
Sudan and the South came to the brink of war last year, prompting Juba to
shut down production - badly hitting both countries.
It only resumed pumping oil in April.
Sudan: A country divided
* Oil fields <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22840154#over1>
* Geography <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22840154#over7>
* Ethnic groups
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22840154#over2>
* Infant mortality
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22840154#over3>
* Water <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22840154#over4> &
sanitation
* Education <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22840154#over5>
* Food insecurity
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22840154#over6>
Show regions
Both Sudan and the South are reliant on their oil revenues, which account
for 98% of South Sudan's budget. But the two countries cannot agree how to
divide the oil wealth of the former united state. Some 75% of the oil lies
in the South but all the pipelines run north. It is feared that disputes
over oil could lead the two neighbours to return to war.
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)