Africa

Home page

Africa

Khartoum puts 4 conditions for normalizing ties with Juba

21 April 2012 02:16 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Sudanese government put Friday four conditions for the normalization of its relations with South Sudan, after announcing that it has reseized the control of vital oil-producing Heglig region from South Sudan’s army, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "The preservation of normal relations with South Sudan, for which Sudan is desirous, will depend on the commitment of the government of South Sudan to the conditions set by the Sudanese government."

"The conditions include an unreserved recognition of all agreements and understanding which have been signed, especially the six agreements on the security issues, the last of which is the nonaggression and cooperation agreement signed in Addis Ababa on Feb. 10, 2012," the statement said.

The conditions also include a clear recognition of the border demarcation on Jan. 1, 1956 according to the concluded agreements; stopping South Sudan’s repeated aggressions on the Sudanese territories, withdrawing its troops from the states of Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, disengaging with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North Sector (SPLM-N) and stopping providing support to it; and a stop of supporting and sheltering Darfur rebel movements, which reject to sign the Doha document for the peace in Darfur, according to the statement.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced on Friday that the Sudanese army had retaken the Heglig region by force and troops from South Sudan had fled the battle field.

Addressing a mass rally in Khartoum to celebrate the " liberation" of Heglig by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on the same day, al-Bashir said that "Your armed forces have recovered Heglig by force, and the remnants of the invaders have fled, and they are continuing to escape and we are pursuing them."

"What the government of the south said that its forces were withdrawing from Heglig is not true. We have expelled them by force, and we will expel them from anywhere in Sudan," the Sudanese president said.

Al-Bashir also pledged to free all areas that are still controlled by rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, both neighboring South Sudan, where the Sudanese government forces have been fighting the rebel SPLM-N since last year.

"We will work to liberate every area from the dirty proxies, and we will expel all insects of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) from any place," al-Bashir said.

The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) seized Heglig on April 10, leading to the suspension of negotiations between Khartoum and Juba on the outstanding issues between them.

The African Union quickly declared South Sudan’s behavior as " illegal," and demanded that it "immediately and unconditionally" withdraw its troops from the region.

The United Nations Security Council termed South Sudan’s capture of Heglig as "a very serious development," saying that South Sudan’s army must immediately withdraw from the region.