South Sudan Troops Capture Disputed Oil Town
A Sudanese minister says troops from rival South Sudan have captured an oil-rich border town claimed by Sudan after a day of fighting.
The Sudanese government admitted late Wednesday that the South Sudan Army (SPLA) has taken over Heglig and that its forces have withdrawn to regroup. The town is 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of the disputed region of Abyei, whose fate was left unresolved when South Sudan split last year from Sudan.
Hostilities between the two countries have grown in recent months, even as the south has said it is trying to avoid a return to war. The two sides never reached a deal to share the region’s oil resources or delineated their exact border.
Prior to the split last year, the two sides fought a civil war that lasted decades.
Troops from South Sudan moved into an oil-rich border town claimed by Sudan as fighting intensified between the countries over who controls the area, officials said Wednesday. A South Sudan official said the fighting is “spreading all over.”
The two sides fought a civil war that lasted decades, and any increase in sporadic border clashes raises the risk of a return to all-out war.Sudanese army spokesman Col. Sawarmy Khaled told the official Radio Omdurman that the South’s army attacked the border oil town of Heglig twice in the past 24 hours. Heglig is located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the east of the disputed region of Abyei, whose fate was left unresolved when South Sudan split last year from Sudan.
South Sudan officials would not confirm whether their troops are in control of the oil fields.
“Fierce battles are still going on and the situation has not yet been resolved,” said Khaled, promising the Sudanese people their side will be victorious.
In New York, the U.S. Security Council on Wednesday was discussing its peacekeeping mission in Abyei, the region near the focus of the conflict.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon talked by telephone with the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, and suggested holding a presidential summit immediately Sudan President Omar al-Bashir to reduce tensions, said his spokesman, Martin Nesirky.The U.N. chief has urged restraint and de-escalation of the conflict by both sides, his spokesman said.
Ban contacted the Sudanese U.N. ambassador Tuesday, and on Wednesday discussed the outbreak of fighting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Ethiopian Prime Minister Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, and will speak to other regional leaders, Nesirky said.
Hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan have grown in recent months, even as the south has said it is trying to avoid a return to war. The two sides never reached a deal to share the oil resources in the region or the exact location of the border, adding to the tensions.