Sudan, South Sudan armies clash on oil rich Heglig border

One Sudanese soldier was killed Monday during a military confrontation between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the South Sudanese Army in the oil-rich Heglig area on the Sudanese territories.

Sawarmy Khalid Saad, spokesman of the SAF, said in a statement that a patrol of the South Sudanese Army entered the oil-rich Heglig area on the Sudanese territories, the official Sudanese News Agency reported.  The report added that a Sudanese soldier was killed and two others injured in the fighting before the patrol pulled back to South Sudan. "At 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) today, a patrol from South Sudan crossed our border at Tashween site, getting a few kilometers into our territories in the Heglig area," Saad said. "The situation has been contained by the leadership of the two sides and the conditions are now stable," he added.

The Heglig area, which had been a scene of bloodshed between the two sides, was seized by South Sudan army on April 10, 2012 and taken back by the Sudanese army 20 days later. Monday's confrontation came at a time when the two sides had agreed to settle their differences, particularly with regard to the disputed areas, through peaceful means under the mediation of the African Union.  New clashes flared up recently between the Sudanese army and rebels erupted in the country's main oil-producing state of South Kordofan, bordering South Sudan.Diplomats said that hardliners among the rebels and inside the Sudanese army usually try to stir up clashes during such mediation efforts as they do not want a peaceful settlement.

Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting insurgents operating on Sudanese soil and using the South's territory as retreat bases, which Juba has denied.  South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 under a peace deal, ending decades of civil war. But the two sides have so far failed to demarcate their joint border and come to agreement on disputed border territories. The United Nations currently deploys a peacekeeping mission in the disputed region of Abyei which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. The UN force helps to mark the border in the oil-rich region and monitors a demilitarized zone.


SOURCE: Xinhua