By Online Team

23^rd April 2012:

The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan “must have the courage” to return to the negotiating table and resolve their differences peacefully, US President Barack Obama has said.

Obama sent out the peace message last week after South Sudan said it had ordered its troops to withdraw from the Heglig oil field in Sudan.  Within hours of Friday’s announcement by the government of South Sudan, Khartoum announced that it had retaken Heglig town.

South Sudanese forces captured the area last week, accusing Khartoum of using it as a base to launch attacks. “We know what needs to happen,” said President Obama. “The government of Sudan must stop its military actions including aerial bombardments.  It must give aid workers the access they need to save lives. And it must end its support for armed groups inside the South.”

Turning to the government of the newly independent South Sudan, Mr Obama said: “Likewise, the government of South Sudan must end its support for armed groups inside Sudan and it must cease its military actions across the border.

It may take a while to establish which version of events – Sudan’s glorious victory or South Sudan’s strategic withdrawal – is closest to the truth.  President Omar al-Bashir will certainly portray this as a triumph – and for him it is.  Even Sudanese who do not like him feel strongly Heglig is Sudanese, and regaining it will boost his popularity at a difficult economic time.

South Sudan has been able to push its point that Heglig – or Panthou as the South Sudanese call it – belongs to it. But that message has fallen on deaf ears.  The US, AU and the UN all condemned South Sudan’s takeover of the oilfields. On Thursday Ban Ki-moon called it “illegal”.

Both countries have been energised by the fighting – and perhaps pushed closer to economic ruin.  But the big question now is whether Heglig marks the high watermark of the fighting – or the start of a new war.  The escalating fighting and rhetoric between the two sides over the past week has led to fears of all-out war.

It is not clear whether Khartoum regained the area by force or whether South Sudanese troops withdrew, under intense international pressure.  South Sudan said its forces were still in the process of withdrawal; Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told AFP it would take three days to complete the operations.

At a victory rally last Friday, President Omar al-Bashir had this to say to his supporters: “We thank God that he made successful your sons; and the security forces and the police force and the defence forces – he has made them victorious on this Friday.”  South Sudan has so far made no public comments on Khartoum’s claim.

South Sudan seceded last July following a 2005 peace deal that ended a two-decade civil war in which more than 1.5 million people died.  On Thursday, South Sudan issued a statement saying it was not interested in war with its northern neighbour and that it would only withdraw from Heglig if the UN deployed monitors there.

President Bashir had earlier threatened to bring down the government in Juba following the loss of Heglig, which provided more than half of Sudan’s oil.  South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir said the South still believed that Heglig was a part of South Sudan and that its final status should be determined by international arbitration, Associated Press reported.

Heglig is internationally accepted to be part of Sudanese territory – although the precise border is yet to be demarcated.   Other issues dividing the two countries are the transit fees the South should pay Sudan to use its oil pipelines and the status of the province of Abyei.

Enter Uganda

Meanwhile, the government of Uganda announced last week that it would not hesitate to join South Sudan’s army in the fight against President Bashir’s Khartoum government.  Army Chief Gen. Aronda Nyakairima said intelligence suggests that Khartoum was “again making contacts” with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) militia, whom he said, have moved towards Sudan carrying 200 small arms.

UPDF spokesperson Felix Kulayigye also lent weight to General Aronda’s claim, and said: “I don’t want to speculate but as a member of IGAD, we shall not sit and watch the Comprehensive Peace Agreement being reversed.” END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.