Khartoum accuses Juba of launching new attack

Sudan has accused South Sudan army of launching a fresh attack on the strategic area of Higlieg in South Kordofan State in a new escalation despite the ongoing talks between the two sides in Addis Ababa. “In a new development in South Kordofan State, the Sudan People ‘s Liberation Army (SPLA), which belongs to South Sudan government, encroached today into our borders at a distance of three kilometres at Al-Tashween area at Higlieg, which constitutes a clear violation of all international conventions,” Sudanese army spokesman Al-Sawarmy Khalid Saad said in a statement. “As the armed forces are dealing with these attacking forces, we reiterate that the armed forces will fully live up to its duty in repulsing these invaders and protecting the homeland and the citizens,” he added. South Sudan, earlier in the day, accused Sudan of bombarding oil producing areas in the south. Pagan Amum, head of South Sudan’s negotiating delegation to Addis Ababa talks in Ethiopia, said that the Sudanese army has attacked Manga and Panakuach areas in Unity State. Military clashes erupted last week between Sudan and South Sudan armies in Higlieg area in South Kordofan State on the border between the two countries. Sudan and South Sudan have failed to demarcate their joint border and remain in dispute over many border areas including Jao which witnessed armed clashes on Feb. 26 in addition to the Abyei area. Sudan and South Sudan on Feb. 10 signed a “Non-aggression Deal” to a void eruption of an armed conflict between the two sides. The agreement, which was reached under the African Union mediation in Addis Ababa, stipulated that each side should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the other, not to intervene in the other’s internal affairs, refrain from the use of force and observe common interests and peaceful co-existence.