Sudan says military confrontation takes place with South Sudan on border

English>>World

Editor's Pick

Sudan says military confrontation takes place with South Sudan on border

(Xinhua) 08:31, August 06, 2013

Email|Print|Comments

twitter

facebook

Sina Microblog

KHARTOUM, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese army said that military confrontation took place Monday between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the South Sudanese Army on the border between the two countries, killing one Sudanese soldier.

The spokesman of the SAF, Sawarmy Khalid Saad, said in a statement that a patrol of the South Sudanese Army entered the oil- rich Heglig area on the Sudanese territories, the official Sudanese News Agency reported.

The report added that one Sudanese soldier was killed and two others were injured in the fighting before the patrol pulled back to South Sudan.

"At 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) today, a patrol from South Sudan crossed our border at Tashween site, getting a few kilometers into our territories in the Heglig area," Saad said.

"The situation has been contained by the leadership of the two sides and the conditions are now stable," he added.

The Heglig area had been a scene of bloodshed between the two sides when South Sudan army seized it on April 10, 2012 and the Sudanese army recaptured it 20 days later.

Monday's confrontation came at a time when signs of truce between the two sides were looming after they agreed to settle their differences, particularly with regard to the disputed areas, through peaceful means under the umbrella of the African Union.

Sudan and South Sudan have so far failed to demarcate their joint border and have been disputing over the affiliation of five border areas, including hotspot Abyei.

（Editor：YaoChun、Zhang Qian）