Sudan, Khartoum and Juba deny deployment of joint force to protect oil fields
I governi del Sudan e del Sud Sudan hanno smentito che i presidenti Omer al-Bashir e Salva Kiir abbiano raggiunto un accordo di sicurezza per dispiegare forze congiunte per proteggere le zone petrolifere in Sud Sudan.
Sudanese foreign minister, Ali Karti, after a solidarity visit that
Bashir paid to Juba on Monday to support Kiir told reporters that both
countries had agreed to deploy a joint force on the border to protect
oil fields, as the rebels say they are targeting oil fields in the Upper
Nile state.
Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson, Abu Bakr
Mohamed Al-Amin denied reports about the security deal, stressing that
there had been a misunderstanding or miscommunication that led to
attribute the alleged statements of the minister Karti.
Al-Amin in
a press conference held at the premises of the foreign ministry
pointed out that Karti spoke about two matters the first an agreement to
send 900 oil workers when Juba give the green light and the second is
to implement the cooperation agreements between the two courtiers.
"There
is a joint keenness to implement those agreements, including the
demarcation of the border, and completion of the zero line which
determines the baseline for the demilitarised security zone between the
countries", added the spokesperson.
He went further to say that
Bashir in his meeting with Kiir and during the joint press conference in
Juba spoke about Sudan’s good experience to secure the common border
with a number of neighbouring countries like, Chad, Eritrea and Ethiopia
through joint patrols.
Bashir also pointed out that similar
forces can be formed to secure the border with South Sudan at the end of
the current exceptional circumstances, Al-Amin said.
"However
there was no talk of sending joint troops to guard, protect or secure
the oil fields within the borders of the State of South Sudan", he
emphasised.
The joint security committee during its fifth meeting
held in Khartoum on 25-26 November did not reach an agreement over the
identification of the zero line as the two sides failed to determine the
surface of a disputed area called 14 Mile located between Northern Bahr
el Ghazal and East Darfur states.
In Juba, South Sudanese oil minister, Stephen Dhieu Dau, told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday that he was "not aware" of any security deal with Khartoum to protect oil fields.
"There was no such agreement that I know", Dau said on Tuesday.
President Kiir’s spokesperson, Ateny Wek Ateny, also told Sudan Tribune
that "there was no agreement on joint forces" to protect South Sudan’s
oil fields, most of which lie in Upper Nile states near the northern
border with Sudan.
The current crisis in South Sudan began when
fighting between members of SPLA broke out in Juba on December 15, 2013
following weeks of political tension within South Sudan’s ruling party.
The conflict in the capital lasted only a few days but led to large
scale rebellions in Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile.
Former
vice-president and rebel leader Riek Machar whose partisans control
Unity state and shutdown oil facilities there threatened also to stop
oil production in the Upper Nile where the South Sudanese army control
and protect oil facilities.
In a press conference after their
meeting in Juba both Bashir and Kiir both reaffirmed their commitment to
not support rebel groups from both sides.
"The two presidents had only reiterated their commitments not support rebels", Ateny reiterated on Tuesday.
The
South Sudanese foreign minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin is expected to
arrive in Khartoum on Wednesday to finalise some issues agreed by the
two presidents.
Since last September the foreign ministers in the
two Sudans are tasked with the follow-up of implementation process of
the cooperation agreements.
Commenting on Benjamin’s visit to
Khartoum, the Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson said the visiting
minister will discuss a report on the implementation of cooperation
agreements to be submitted soon to a joint committee headed by the
Sudanese and South Sudanese vice-presidents.
Source Sudan Tribune
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