CAIRO: Egypt announced on Sunday that it will attempt to mediate between the Sudan and South Sudan in attempt to ease the recent tensions between the two countries that raised the concerns of a potential war. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Kamel AMr headed to Khartoum on Sunday morning, as a part of his tour that will include a visit to the Southern Sudanese capital, Juba, in a bid to defuse the crisis between the two countries, which erupted because of the dispute over the oil-producing region of Heglig. Amr was accompanied by a delegation of four people, including Ambassador Mohamed Morsy, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Sudan. A delegation member said that the Foreign Minister will hand over two letters by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, to the leaders of the two countries, where he will meet during his visit to Khartoum with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and a number of Sudanese officials, to discuss the recent developments between the Sudan and South Sudan and to work together to calm the situation. He explained that the delegation will travel to Juba on Monday to meet President Salva Kiir Mayardit, for similar talks, based on the excellent relations between Egypt and both countries. Tantawi made phone calls during the past few hours with the leaders of the warring nations, while Amr expressed in his recent statements Egypt's concerns about the current tension between Khartoum and Juba, stressing that Egypt is ready to make efforts and play a role in achieving a truce between the two parties. Amr called on both sides to stop hostilities and to respect the agreements signed between them and the resumption of negotiations to find solutions to outstanding issues in question. Heglig is extremely important to Khartoum because it represents roughly half of the Sudan's 115,000 barrel per day (bpd) oil output and the fighting has stopped production there. With South Sudan's secession last year the Sudan lost 75 percent of the country's oil production. Khartoum was hoping that transit fees on South Sudan's estimated 350,000 bpd output would help ease the loss. In an attempt to recoup the financial losses, Khartoum imposed a heavy tax on South Sudan's oil traveling through its pipeline to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. Those transit fees account for 36 percent of the Sudan's budget. There are no other options for moving the oil, and when the land-locked South Sudan suspected Khartoum was siphoning the oil and asking for too much money, they responded but stopping oil extraction altogether. 98 percent of South Sudan's revenue is from oil; they are also considered one of the most under-developed regions in the world due to half a century of warfare with Khartoum. The Heglig oil fields, are allocated to the Sudan, and South Sudan shocked the region when they moved last week to take possession of them. The United Nations and the African Union demanded a withdrawal, however, South Sudan has asked for an international peace-keeping force to take its place, which is not going over well. South Sudan maintains the region has been used for launching attacks into their sovereign territory. Al-Sawarmi Khalid, spokesman for the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), said, “We have not carried out attacks into South Sudan.” SPLA spokesperson Philip Aguer insisted Heglig is part of South Sudan. The battle continues to rage, with the SAF bombing installations and bridges – 5 civilians are said to have died. MiG fighters and Antonov aircraft are seen in the sky, which belong to the SAF. The SPLA does not have an air force, however, the SPLA is winning the battle for now, and by brute force and determination. ** Pete Willows contributed to the reporting of this article.
