Monday, Apr 23, 2012
(Recast throughout)
KAMPALA, Uganda (Dow Jones)--Sudan and South Sudan forces ended a lull in fighting Sunday two days after the South withdrew its troops from the disputed oil town of Heglig, leaving most oil facilities damaged, officials said Monday.
South Sudan accused Sudan of carrying out fresh ground and air raids in the oil-producing Unity state Sunday.
"The Khartoum government is continuing its aggression, they have been attacking since Sunday," said Col. Philip Aguer, the South Sudan army spokesman.
Meanwhile, Sudan said that its forces repulsed a South Sudan-backed Sudan People's Liberation Movement North rebel attack in South Kordofan Sunday, causing heavy human casualties and material damage on the attackers.
Neither incident could be independently verified.
Sudanese Defense Minister, Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein was quoted by the state media as saying an attack on the strategic town of Talodi was repelled by Sudan Armed Forces backed by Jihadists and other paramilitary forces.
Sudan has also accused Uganda of issuing passports to senior SPLM-N rebels, a charge that could draw more countries into the conflict. Uganda which has previously dismissed any links with the rebel group said last week that it would be forced to intervene on the side of South Sudan, if Khartoum attacks Juba.
U.S. President Barack Obama urged the leaders of the two nations over the weekend to end hostilities and resume negotiations over unresolved secession issues such as oil and border demarcation.
Sudan is demanding compensation from South Sudan for damage to facilities in Heglig as one of the conditions prior to the resumption of talks.
Sudan accuses South Sudan's troops of destroying the main pumping station at the 60,000-barrel-a-day oil field at the town of Heglig, stalling production, Sudanese government spokesman Rabie Abdelaty said Monday.
"Most facilities have been destroyed beyond repair. We are still assessing the damage and obviously we shall seek compensation," he said.
South Sudan bowed to international pressure last week and announced a formal withdrawal of its forces from Heglig after 10 days of occupation. Sudan quickly declared that its troops had liberated the oil town, which houses a refinery, a processing plant and vast oil and gas fields.
The refinery's operating system software, the central processing facility and the main control plants were also damaged. South Sudan blames Sudan for the damage and will not accept responsibility, Col. Aguer, said.
"They made it a habit to bomb oil facilities every hour ever since our troops first occupied Heglig," he said. "Even when we announced plans to withdraw, they continued bombing."
South Sudan split from Sudan less than a year ago following decades of war. In recent months the two countries have fought over how much landlocked South Sudan should pay Sudan to use its oil pipelines and export ports. South Sudan halted oil shipments in January after accusing Sudan of stealing its oil meant for export--a charge Sudan denies.
-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 256-75 2624615;
Nicholas.Bariyo@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
23-04-12 0744GMT
