South Sudan puts its army on maximum alert in oil-row escalation
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By Ngor Arol Garang
January 25, 2012 (JUBA) - South Sudan on Wednesday said it has put its
troops on maximum alert, amid growing tensions with Khartoum over the
ongoing oil-wealth sharing dispute and reports of air bombing by Sudan
inside its borders.
JPEG - 13.9 kb
Soldiers guard a South Sudanese oil refinery, 2009 (AFP)
Yesterday the UN High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) condemned
aerial bombardment of areas hosting Sudanese refugees in South Sudan.
The bombing which took place on Monday in the Upper Nile state
reportedly left one child injured and 14 other people missing. Upper
Nile borders Blue Nile state in Sudan, where the Khartoum government
is engaged in conflict with rebels.
On Wednesday the spokesperson of the French foreign ministry Bernard
Valero condemned the air raid saying it not only endangered civilians
living "in dramatic situation" but also United Nations and
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) staff working there.
"This aggression is a violation of international humanitarian law and
involves the lives of civilians and humanitarian workers. This is
unacceptable" the French official said.
Valero also said that France is “very concerned” about recent
decisions “taken unilaterally” by both Khartoum and Juba which “go
against the spirit of friendship and cooperation which they had been
able to demonstrate from January to July 2011” .
Valero urged both parties to “demonstrate responsibility” and to reach
an agreement at the Intergovernmental Authority on Development special
summit, based on the African Union High-level Implementation Panel
proposals.
Speaking at a press briefing in Juba International airport upon
arrival from Addis Ababa on Wednesday, Majak D’Agoot, the country’s
deputy minister of defence said the Government of South Sudan (GoSS)
was aware that Khartoum is mobilising support for militia groups
operating along the borders with South Sudan.
Agoot said South Sudan’s troops are on maximum alert, to counter any
Khartoum-backed aggression.
The South Sudan official said the talks he attended in Ethiopia with
Khartoum were fruitless because of the reluctance of the Sudanese
delegation to engage "in honest and meaningful discussions".
Khartoum has been confiscating South Sudanese oil as what it considers
payment for arrears in unpaid transit fees. Juba considers the charge
of US$32 per barrel in fees suggested by Khartoum exorbitant but is
landlocked and currently has no other pipeline, other than the one
under Khartoum’s control, which terminates at Port Sudan.
Juba claims Khartoum has “looted” US$815 billion worth of its oil.
Khartoum is demanding around US$1 billion in unpaid fees since July
2011.
As a result of dispute South Sudan has stopped output at more than 300
wells and has reduced production at 600 more.
According to the south’s chief negotiator in talks being held in Addis
Ababa, Pagan Amum, output is expected to be reduced from 275,000 to
135,000 barrels per day. He also said US$2.6 billions would be
disbursed to Sudan within four years after separation and that US$2.8
billion in South Sudanese arrears be forgiven.
As South Sudan relies on oil revenues for 90 per cent of its economy,
the prohibitive costliness and time-consuming nature of constructing
an alternative pipeline through neighbouring Kenya to the coast at
Lamu, the stalemate is unlikely to be tenable for long.
Aleu Ayeny Aleu, a member of the National Assembly from Warrap
commended the decision to reduce oil production.
“Nothing much has changed. The standoff on oil have not been
resolved”, Agoot told journalists on Wednesday in Juba but expressed
South Sudan’s willingness to negotiate “a fair deal” with Khartoum.
While still at the Addis Ababa summit Agoot told Sudan Tribune that
his “profound” knowledge of the Sudanese government made the Sudanese
defence minister, Abdel-Rahim Mohammed Hussein reluctant to hold
discussions with his delegation.
Agoot served as deputy National Intelligence and Security Service
(NISS) in Khartoum during the interim period, before he was appointed
as South Sudan’s deputy defence minister after secession on 9 July
2011.
Agoot was accompanied by the general chief of staff of the Sudan
People’s Liberation Army, James Hoth Mai.
(ST)
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