Sudan and South Sudan battle over disputed oilfields

Sudan and South Sudan are close to war along their disputed border, with multiple clashes around vital oil fields and an escalation in troop build-ups.

The tension has been rising for several months, particularly since South Sudan shut down oil production, protesting alleged theft of its crude exports from the pipeline through Sudan. Since then Khartoum, which is heavily dependent on oil export revenues, has sought to increase the pressure on its breakaway southern neighbour to restart production or lose the wells by force.

Most of the oil fields are located in border regions such as Unity state, where the boundary between Sudan and South Sudan was never fully demarcated after the south declared independence last July. Khartoum insists that some of the oil fields are in northern territory, whilst the south – which is almost wholly reliant on oil revenues for its budget – is adamant that it will not cede any territory.

The recent upsurge in fighting began on around 26 March. Details are sparse given the remoteness of the border and the poor communications, but Juba insists that Sudanese warplanes began bombing oil-producing areas in Unity state, before clashes broke out between the armies of both sides.

During the fighting, South Sudan alleges, northern forces temporarily captured oil facilities in the Heglig region, which is claimed by both sides. The facilities at Heglig and in the area struck by air attacks are operated by China’s CNODC. Khartoum claims that the violence came in response to attacks by South Sudanese forces. It insists that its troops are in control of the Heglig field.

The African Union and the UN have called on both sides to pull back their forces from the border and return to the negotiating table to discuss key issues including oil revenues and border demarcation. Neither side has shown much willingness to start a fully-fledged war, but the clashes have stalled their diplomatic discussions. A summit on 3 April, in which Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was due to travel to Juba, has been cancelled.

Sources: BBC, Voice of America, Reuters

Sudan border tensions reach boiling point

The confrontation between Sudan and South Sudan along their disputed border seems to be reaching a boiling point, with dozens killed in fighting and accusations that Sudanese jets have bombed targets within South Sudanese territory.

Tension has risen steadily over the past month, as rebels with links to the South Sudanese government have attacked towns on the Sudanese side of the border and Khartoum has responded by launching raids along the disputed boundary region.

At the end of February Sudanese rebels claimed to have killed 150 government troops in a border battle, prompting the Sudanese government to threaten retaliation against Juba for its alleged involvement. Although South Sudan denies supporting the Sudan People's Liberation Movement North, it is widely seen as a convenient proxy for Juba.

On 2 March, the South Sudanese government accused its northern neighbour of massing troops along the border and also said that some Sudanese military units had penetrated as far as 10 miles into South Sudan's oil-producing Unity state. Airstrikes against oil facilities were also reported.

The rise in violence suggests that attempts to demarcate the border, which were agreed last month, will come to nothing. Even the proposed demarcation process would exclude five disputed areas, underlining the distance between the two sides on the issue.

Control of oil-producing areas is one of the most contentious issues – almost all production is located in what is now South Sudan, although the export infrastructure is located in the north. Disputes over revenue-sharing have led Juba to shut down production, crippling its own oil-dependent economy but also seriously damaging northern Sudan.

The recent rise in border tension suggests that Khartoum is testing to see whether it could seize oilfields by force without provoking an international crisis.

Sources: Sudan Tribune, AFP

South Sudan insists on border deal for oil

South Sudan has demanded that a border agreement with Sudan should be signed before it restarts oil exports, amid a growing row over the situation along their boundary.

On 29th January, South Sudanese Oil Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said that “oil production will restart when we have a comprehensive agreement and all the deals are signed”. The country has shut down all its oil production over the past few weeks after Sudan started taking oil in lieu of fees which it claims are owed by South Sudan.

The north controls the oil export pipelines but most of the actual production is concentrated in the south. After the south became independent last July, this became a major point of contention between the two Sudans. Oil accounts for 98% of South Sudan's budget, so the oil shutdown will have serious economic effects; however, the north is also heavily dependent on oil transit and export fees.

South Sudanese officials are now demanding that the sides settle a whole host of issues before oil exports restart. One of the most significant is the status of the broder and the disputed region of Abyei. “Sudan must recognize the 1956 border, which means they must give back all the areas under occupation,” according to Dau.

This would mean handing over control of Abyei, a nexus for local rebellions and cattle raids which have killed hundreds in recent months. Juba has accused Khartoum of supporting local gunmen who have rampaged through the border region; the north, in turn, accuses the south of backing insurgents who were affiliated with the ruling southern party but were left in Sudan after the secession agreement.

The UN has called on both sides to pull back from Abyei, insisting that the presence of police and security forces there was destabilising the border situation. However with the UN peacekeeping force there still under-strength and unable to control the region, neither side is willing to pull back until it has secured a favourable verdict on the border region and its oil wealth.

Sources: Telegraph, Reuters, Sudan Tribune

Sudan refuses border demarcation as risk of confrontation grows

The Sudanese government has turned down an African Union proposal for a new round of negotiations with South Sudan, as military tensions along their disputed border rise sharply.

On 15th November, a South Sudanese minister complained that Khartoum has suspended the talks, which were being held under the auspices of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), chaired by former South African leader Thabo Mbeki. AUHIP talks have been struggling on for two years, but have failed to make progress on key issues such as border demarcation and oil sharing.

The suspension of talks comes at a critical time in relations between Sudan and South Sudan, which formally seceded in July. Rebels linked to Juba's ruling Sudan Liberation People's Movement, operating in border states within Sudanese territory, have intensified their battle against the Sudanese military.

According to local NGOs, Khartoum has responded with a major bombing campaign against border regions. There have been persistent accusations that it has launched airstrikes against refugee camps, including one across the border with South Sudan. Oxfam has pulled out its staff in response to the violence. The Sudanese military has also allegedly boosted its military presence near the boundary, with refurbished airfields and greater deployments of armoured forces.

The military build-up has provoked fears of a new war. South Sudanese president Salva Kiir has warned that Khartoum is seeking to invade South Sudan and steal its oilfields. Sudan's leader Omar al-Bashir, for his part, has said that he is ready for conflict if Juba provokes it.

Although a full-blown military conflict remains unlikely, the harsh rhetoric makes it more difficult for the two sides to demarcate the border, agree on oil-sharing, and prevent cross-border cattle raids which have killed hundreds. The AUHIP does not seem to have the political clout needed to calm tensions and push both sides into a compromise.

Sources: Sudan Tribune, AFP

Abyei remains contested, says South Sudan

A senior official from South Sudan has said that the oil-rich border region of Abyei will remain disputed, until the governments of Sudan and South Sudan agree on a deal which will protect the rights of its residents.

Speaking on 17th September, Luka Biong Deng, a co-chair of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (set up to monitor the implementation of agreements there), said that Abyei would retain a special status until a legal and binding decision is made.

Biong said that the current agreement governing the administration of Abyei, which was signed in June, is not a permanent mandate. Abyei is nominally controlled by both states under UN supervision, since a referendum to decide its fate – alongside the vote which led to South Sudan's independence – was not held due to disputes between Juba and Khartoum.

Biong asserted, however, that the international community continues to work under the impression that Abyei belongs to north Sudan, and is therefore unable to provide the necessary support and assistance to it. At present, both Sudan and South Sudan have forces stationed in Abyei; there is also a UN peacekeeping force, composed of Ethiopian troops. Both sides are due to withdraw their forces by the end of September.

Troop withdrawal, said Biong, is a key first step towards a plebiscite. With the UN in charge, both governments will continue to administer it "until the final status of the area can be determined in a manner that respects the will of the residents of Abyei".

Biong's statement is intended to emphasise that the current arrangement, with both states jointly administering the region, is not permanent. It reflects a confidence that Abyei's residents, which have tended to support the south and have a range of grievances against the government in Khartoum, will agree to join South Sudan in any referendum and thereby handing control of the region's oil wealth to Juba.

Any flare-up in fighting would provide a good excuse for the north's government to maintain forces in the region and put off a referendum. Ensuring a smooth, demilitarised transition is therefore critical for the South Sudanese government.

Sources: Sudan Tribune, BBC

Sudan refers Kordofan border clashes to UN Security Council

Following intensive clashes in the border region between Sudan and newly-independent South Sudan, the Khartoum government has filed a complaint with the UN Security Council accusing its neighbour of fomenting instability.

The clashes in South Kordofan began in June, a month before the formal declaration of South Sudanese independence, but have flared up recently, with the Sudanese government accused of indiscriminate aerial bombing of civilian areas. Around 200,000 are believed to have fled their homes. An unexpected government ceasefire announced on 23^rd August does not appear to have ended the fighting.

Sudanese government forces are seeking to neutralise armed rebels from the Nuba ethnic group. Although now located north of the border, many of the Nuba sided with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army during the southern group's twenty-year war against Khartoum. Non-Arab like most of South Sudan's population, the Nuba community also complained of discrimination and oppression by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum. 

Sudan now views the pro-southerners which are left within its territory as a potential fifth column for the new government in Juba. In its complaint to the UN, the Sudanese government has accused South Sudan of arming and instructing the rebels in the Nuba Mountains. A Sudanese government spokesman said on 30^th August that Khartoum has “documented proof” that the insurrection is being orchestrated by Juba. 

The complaint also cited numerous alleged border violations by South Sudan, including the deployment of military forces in the disputed, oil-rich area of Abyei (which borders South Kordofan) in violation of the 2005 peace deal, and failing to withdraw forces from a disputed border strip. Juba has denied all the accusations.

This new international element to the long-simmering rebellion increases risks for the wider border situation between Sudan and South Sudan. South Kordofan is adjacent to Abyei, a focal point of north-south tensions because of its oil wealth. 

An uptick in fighting between the Sudanese army and the rebels, or cross-border raids, could raise the prospect of the southern Sudanese military – at this point still a cobbled-together force of former rebels – becoming involved.

Sources: BBC, Reuters, Sudan Tribune

North and South Sudan agree to demilitarised border zone

North and South Sudan have agreed to set up a jointly patrolled demilitarised zone along their border, however both sides are already expressing scepticism on whether it will hold.

The African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) for Sudan, which mediated the deal, released a statement on Tuesday 31st May saying that an agreement was reached during talks on Monday in Addis Ababa to form a common zone along the 1,300 mile border.

The zone will follow internal borders from 1956, the year Sudan became independent from Britain, and will encompass six miles on either side of the border line.

Khartoum's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Media Secretary Ibrahim Ghandour downplayed the significance of the agreement, arguing that what was signed was simply one plan that could form the basis of a framework agreement.

He stressed that proposals are still being discussed.

The Southern-ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) also expressed doubt that such an agreement could be upheld.

SPLA spokesman Colonel Philip Aguer was quoted in the New York Times as saying “The question is, whether the Khartoum army and intelligence implement it? We doubt it very much.”


Disagreement over the border has proved to be one of the most problematic issues as South Sudan readies itself for independence in July.

Southerners voted overwhelmingly to secede from the north in a January referendum outlined by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which, in 2005, brought decades of civil war in Sudan to an end.

The CPA also arranged for a referendum to be held in the disputed border region of Abyei on whether its residents wanted to join the north or the south, but the vote was postponed indefinitely after disagreements over voter eligibility.

Both sides claim fertile and oil-rich Abyei, and it has been the site of numerous clashes in recent months.

On 21st May, northern forces took over Abyei, causing some 80,000 people to flee, mostly to the south.


The international community has called on Khartoum to withdraw from Abyei, however northern president Omar Al-Bashir has said he will not pull out.

On Thursday 26th May, the north bombed and destroyed the bridge across the Bahr el Arab, called the River Kiir by southerners, which forms part of the 1956 border in the Abyei area.

Northern troops have also been deployed in two other areas along the border, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, and Khartoum has demanded that all southern-allied soldiers in the areas disarm by Wednesday.

What will happen if they do not, is not yet clear.

Sources: BBC News, Guardian, New York Times, Sudan Tribune

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