March 28, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The head of Sudan’s parliament, Ahmad
Ibrahim al-Tahir, alleged on Wednesday that the army of South Sudan is
mustering troops to attack on Blue Nile State, one day after the two
neighbors eased military escalations along the borders.
- Sudan People’s Liberation Army, SPLA, soldiers stand guard during independence celebrations in Juba, South Sudan, Saturday, July 9, 2011 (AP PHOTOS)
Al-Tahir said during a parliamentary session that the southern army
known as SPLA was currently amassing troops along the shared borders to
attack Blue Nile but he stressed that the Sudanese Army (SAF) is also
prepared to repulse the potential assault.
Sudan’s border state of Blue Nile is the scene of a conflict between
government forces and rebels Khartoum accuses South Sudan of backing, a
charge Juba denies.
Military confrontations erupted on Monday between SAF and SPLA around
the oil-rich town of Heglig inside the Sudanese border state of South
Kordofan, raising fears of a return to all out war between Khartoum and
Juba.
Further escalation occurred when SAF bombed oil fields in the south’s northern state of Unity.
However, the SPLA later announced the end of engagement with SAF and
withdrawal of its troops from Heglig. Both sides said they don’t want to
go back to full-blown war.
The clashes in Heglig came at a time when the two countries appeared
to be making unprecedented progress in the negotiations over post
secession issues.
Sudan’s President Omer Al-Bashir was scheduled to visit Juba for a
summit with his South Sudanese counterparty Salva Kiir Mayardit after
the two countries initialed agreements on borders and nationality
earlier this month in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Following the
eruption of the clashes, Khartoum however announced that the planned
trip had been put on hold.
On the diplomatic battlefront, meanwhile, the Sudanese government has
announced it will lodge an official complaint with the UN Security
Council (UNSC) against the SPLA’s attack in South Kordofan.
Salah Wansi, Sudan’s acting minister of foreign affairs, said during
the parliament’s session on Wednesday that the new compliant would be
supported by a recording of Kiir’s announcement that the SPLA had
attacked Heglig.
The Sudanese diplomat called on the international community to advise
South Sudan to refrain from hostilities against Sudan in order to
achieve peace and security between the two nations.
Khartoum has already filed four complaints with the UNSC against
South Sudan since the latter seceded in July last year under a 2005
peace deal that ended nearly half a century of north-south civil wars in
the former united Sudan.
(ST)
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