Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Sudan parliament recalls civil war rhetoric, calls South an ''enemy''
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 17 - 04 - 2012

Sudan's parliament branded South Sudan an "enemy" on Monday and demanded the army swiftly recapture a disputed oil-producing region, as escalating border tensions brought the former civil war foes closer to another full-blown conflict.
South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in July, seized the disputed Heglig oilfield last Tuesday, prompting its northern neighbor to vow to recapture the area by "all means."
The oilfield is vital to Sudan's economy, producing about half of the 115,000 barrel-per-day output that remained in its control after South Sudan's succession.
Addressing Sudan's parliament, speaker Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir accused the South's ruling party — the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) — of posing a security threat to the north.
"We declare that we will confront the SPLM until we end its rule of the South, and will work to gather our resources to realize this aim," he said. "We are in a battle that does not finish with the recovery of Heglig, but with an end to the danger that comes from South Sudan."
The assembly then went on to adopt a resolution describing the SPLM government as "an enemy," but it did not spell out the full implications of the decision.
South Sudan's Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin called the decision "ludicrous."
"How can they call us an enemy?" he said.
South Sudan insists Heglig is rightfully part of the South and says it will not withdraw its troops unless the United Nations deploys a neutral force to monitor a ceasefire.
It accused Khartoum on Sunday of reducing the oil facility "to rubble" in an air strike, an accusation denied by Sudan.
"If any damage has occurred in Heglig it may have been on the part of the army of South Sudan," Sudan's Information Minister Abdallah Ali Masar said.
Both sides regularly make conflicting claims and limited access to the remote region makes it difficult to independently verify their statements.
Fighting
The clashes have all but killed hopes the two can reach an agreement soon on disputed issues such as demarcation of their 1,800-km (1,200-mile) border, division of national debt and the status of citizens in each other's territory.
South Sudan's military spokesman Philip Aguer said the South's armed forces had brought 14 prisoners of war to Juba on Sunday, the first to arrive in the South's capital since the fighting in Heglig began.
He said Sudan's army had also shelled a location in the west of South Sudan's Upper Nile state on Sunday. "The army is trying to open other fronts," he said.
Meanwhile, Kouider Zerrouk, a United Nations spokesman, said a UN camp in the Mayom area of South Sudan's Unity state had been hit during aerial bombardment of the area on Sunday.
Zerrouk said no one was wounded at the camp, known as a "county support base," but a radio room was damaged. Sudan's military spokesman and foreign ministry spokesman were not immediately available to comment.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice described the bombing as "particularly condemnable and deplorable."
"This is obviously a subject of grave concern as is the South's continued presence in Heglig and a myriad of violent confrontations in and around the border area and deep into both countries' territory," she told reporters on Monday.
In Juba, South Sudan's parliament decided to raise military spending and bolster the army by cutting salaries of all deputies by 10 percent for three months.
"It is better to give the money to the army to defend our country," senior deputy Joy Kwaje told reporters after deputies approved a resolution to support the armed forces and a general mobilization of the military.


Clic here to read the story from its source.