Sudan accuses South of continued hostilities as ceasefire deadline ends
FILE | AFP
Sudanese repair crew work at the Heglig oil facility, after Sudan started pumping oil again from the war-damaged oil field on Wednesday, days after occupying South Sudanese troops left the area. Sudan has accused the South of going against the UN resolution for a ceasefire, whose deadline ended May 05, 2012.
What you need to know:
- Khartoum claims the South’s army still occupy disputed areas and back rebel groups
KHARTOUM Friday
South Sudan has not stopped hostilities in line with a UN resolution because it continues to “occupy” points along the disputed border, Sudan’s army spokesman said yesterday.
“From our side the government is committed to the UN Security Council resolution by stopping hostilities,” Sawarmi Khaled Saad told AFP, shortly before a 1500 GMT UN deadline to stop fighting or face possible sanctions.
“But the other side still has a presence inside our land,” he said, alleging that the Southern army still occupied two points along the border with Darfur, “and this means they haven’t stopped hostilities.”
The claim was in line with comments by Sudanese officials since Southern troops ended their 10-day occupation of Sudan’s main oil region of Heglig last month.
Since then, Sudan has repeatedly stated that South Sudanese “aggression” continues in the form of direct occupation of other disputed areas along the border, and by supporting rebel groups inside Sudan.
Under Wednesday’s UN Security Council Resolution, Sudan and South Sudan are also required to stop supporting rebel groups operating in each other’s territory.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay will make her first visit to South Sudan from May 8 to 12, her office said yesterday, as a deadline loomed for a UN-ordered ceasefire with Sudan.
Pillay’s spokesman told journalists in Geneva the UN rights chief would meet with President Salva Kiir as well as various ministers, the speaker of parliament and the South Sudan Human Rights Commission to discuss humanitarian officials and protecting civilians affected by the border conflict with Sudan.
Both Khartoum and Juba have pledged to seek peace after weeks of bloody clashes between the former civil war foes began in late March, peaking with the South’s seizure of the key Heglig oil field before pulling back after international condemnation.
And a coalition of 150 Arab and African civil society organisations are calling on the United States and China to help solve the conflict between Sudan and South Sudan.
The coalition sent a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, as the two countries started a two-day meeting yesterday.
The signatories warn that: “Recent escalation of cross-border violence between Sudan and South Sudan poses a serious threat to international peace and security.”
The US and China are both members of the UN Security Council and China has vetoed a number of decisions concerning Sudan such as the decision to impose sanctions on Sudan for human rights abuses in Darfur.
The letter from the lobby groups adds: “Everyone, not least the Sudanese people, stand to lose if the governments of Sudan and South Sudan resort to war.”
