SOUTH SUDAN: The country's withdrawal from the contested oil-rich oil region of Heglig and fresh fighting to the south of the de facto border may mean the border war is set to continue with Sudan
Record ID:
344178
SOUTH SUDAN: The country's withdrawal from the contested oil-rich oil region of Heglig and fresh fighting to the south of the de facto border may mean the border war is set to continue with Sudan
- Title: SOUTH SUDAN: The country's withdrawal from the contested oil-rich oil region of Heglig and fresh fighting to the south of the de facto border may mean the border war is set to continue with Sudan
- Date: 23rd April 2012
- Summary: BENTIU, SOUTH SUDAN (APRIL 22, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS SINGING AND WAVING GUNS VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS PERFORMING DRILL, MARCHING SOLDIER BEHIND FENCE/ WOUNDED SOLDIERS SITTING BY FENCE WOUNDED SOLDIERS AT BENTIU MILITARY HOSPITAL (SOUNDBITE) (Nuer) WOUNDED SOLDIER SAMUEL BOL SAYING: "I don't agree with the Khartoum statement that they captured Heglig because the day that Bashir was announcing that he captured Heglig there wasn't any SAF soldiers in Heglig. Heglig was not captured." SIGN OF UNITY OIL FIELD VARIOUS OF UNITY OIL PROCESSING FACILITIES/ OIL WITH DEBRIS PEOPLE STANDING IN BOMB CRATERS NEAR OIL PROCESSING FACILITIES MAN HOLDING SHRAPNEL (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH SUDAN ARMY OFFICER, CAPTAIN KUER JUACH ATEM, SAYING: "They want to destroy this oil refinery because they don't have any resource, because this oil is belongs to the South." ROUNDABOUT IN BENTIU MEN LAUGHING IN THREE-WHEELED MOTORCYCLE TAXI (SOUNDBITE) (Nuer) SOUTH SUDAN BUSINESSMAN, JOSEPH GATKUOTH, SAYING: "For the entire Unity state, the people are not happy with the decision that was taken by the council of ministers by withdrawing the troops from the border but if it gives space for peace and the international community acts on time, there will be no problem. The problem will be the delay." VARIOUS OF DONKEY CART CARRYING WATER TANK (SOUNDBITE) (Nuer) SOUTH SUDANESE CITIZEN, TURUK WUOR, SAYING: "For the withdrawal I am not happy. The SAF was in the territory of South Sudan. It is them who should be told to withdraw their forces because the land belongs to us. Why did the UN decide that?" VARIOUS OF BULLET ROUNDS HANGING, SOLDIER SMOKING IN SHELTER
- Embargoed: 8th May 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: South Sudan, South Sudan
- Country: South Sudan
- Topics: Politics,Energy
- Reuters ID: LVA3T0A8EJ0D84577QNHHC7B3QHM
- Story Text: South Sudan and Sudan are once again on the edge of all-out war on their shared border, just days after the South's army announced its withdrawal from an oil-rich contested border town.
The South says four soldiers were killed when the Sudan armed forces attacked an area they consider seven kilometres south of the de facto border. The assault was accompanied by aerial bombardment, the South's army said.
South Sudan said Sudanese troops attacked settlements about 10km (6 miles) on its side of the border and carried out air raids in a range of areas including its oil-producing Unity state.
Sudan denied the accusations but said it had repelled a "major" attack by SPLM-N rebels in South Kordofan state, on its own side of the border. Sudan routinely says the rebels are controlled by the South.
Strained diplomatic relations escalated severely when South Sudan earlier this month seized the disputed oil-producing territory of Heglig, that produced almost half of Sudan's oil production, raising fears of a return to all-out war - then announced it had started withdrawing on Friday, following sharp criticism from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Just as the South announced its withdrawal, Khartoum said that it had defeated the South's troops and recaptured Heglig.
"I don't agree with the Khartoum statement that they captured Heglig because the day that Bashir was announcing that he captured Heglig there wasn't any SAF soldiers in Heglig. Heglig was not captured," said South Sudan soldier Samuel Bol.
On Sunday, South Sudanese officials showed reporters an oil field in Unity which they said had been bombed by the Sudanese air force last week.
A Reuters reporter saw three bomb craters at an oil field run by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co (GNPOC) but no visible damage to facilities.
Limited access to the remote border conflict areas makes it difficult to verify the often contradictory statements from both sides.
South Sudan shut down its oil production in January, after Sudan seized a portion of its oil. Oil is just one of a raft of unresolved issues relating to South's independence last July.
"They want to destroy this refinery because they don't have any resource because this oil belongs to the South," said South Sudan Captain Kuer Juach Atem.
Juba's decision to withdraw from Heglig, having held it for roughly a fortnight, came after heavy pressure from global powers to ease tensions between the two countries and draw them back from the brink of war.
But the decision to withdraw has proven unpopular with the local population in Bentiu.
"For the entire Unity state the people are not happy with the decision that was taken by the council of ministers by withdrawing the troops from the border but if it gives space for the peace and the international community acts on time there will be no problem. The problem will be the delay," said businessman Joseph Gatkuoth.
Many are doubtful that the pull-out will bring peace to the two countries, who fought a civil war for two decades that killed some two million people.
"For the withdrawal I am not happy. The SAF was in the territory of South Sudan. It is them who should be told to withdraw their forces because the land belongs to us. Why did the U.N. decide that?" said South Sudanese citizen Turuk Wuor.
Any return to widespread fighting would have a devastating impact on both oil-dependent countries and push refugees and fighters into the surrounding region.
The fighting has already shut down most of the oil production that fuels both Sudan and South Sudan's struggling economies.
The latest clashes have doused most hopes that the withdrawal from Heglig would help ease tensions and with the war drums beating, there is little sign of the two sides returning to the negotiating table.
South Sudan won its independence in a referendum that was promised in a 2005 peace accord that ended decades of civil war between Khartoum and the south. Religion, ethnicity and oil fuelled that conflict, which killed about 2 million people. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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