South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has ordered the withdrawal of his troops from the Heglig oil field across the border in Sudan.
South Sudanese forces captured the oil field last week, accusing Khartoum of using it as a base to launch attacks.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said the occupation is illegal and also called on Sudan to stop bombing the South.
The escalating fighting and rhetoric between the two sides over the last week has led to fears of all-out war.
South Sudan seceded last July following a 2005 peace deal which ended a brutal 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.
A day earlier, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had threatened to bring down the government in Juba following the loss of Heglig, which provided more than half of Sudan's oil.
Reuters news agency says the withdrawal was ordered to create the environment for talks with Khartoum.
No comments:
Post a Comment