European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton Thursday expressed serious concerns over the ongoing border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan, and urged both nations to resolve their differences peacefully.
According to a statement issued by her office, Ashton denounced the move by the South Sudanese armed forces to occupy Heglig oilfield inside Sudan as well as the ongoing aerial bombardment of South Sudanese territory by the Sudan Armed Forces as "completely unacceptable."
She appealed to both nations to stop supporting armed rebel groups in their territories, and urged them to them to "implement their commitment to establish a Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism without further delay."
She also called on Sudan and South Sudan "to cease hostilities, withdraw forces immediately back within their own borders and respect each other's territorial integrity, in line with the Memorandum of Understanding on Non-Aggression and Cooperation they signed on 10 February."
"It is imperative that both Parties demonstrate their commitment to resolving their differences peacefully under the auspices of the AU High Level Implementation Panel and deliver on their promise to bring a new spirit of cooperation to their negotiations, as agreed in Addis in mid-March," the statement said.
She said it was important the earlier planned Summit between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir take place as as soon as possible in wake of the recent events. Ashton added that the "escalating violence in the border region underlines the urgency of putting in place a political process to address the conflicts."
Southern Sudan troops seized the oil-rich Heglig border region from the Sudanese army on Tuesday amidst heavy fighting along their shared border. Sudan has since pledged to use "all legitimate means" to recapture the oil field and warned of "destruction" in the south. Media reports indicate that Sudanese fighter jets carried out aerial raids in the Unity state in South Sudan on Thursday.
In response to the ongoing border clashes, Sudan withdrew from negotiations with the South and lodged separate complaints about South Sudan's "aggression" with the United Nations as well as the AU.
Both AU and the UN have since urged South Sudan to withdraw its forces from Heglig and appealed to both nations to resolve their differences on border-related matters and other outstanding issues peacefully.
Ignoring the UN and AU appeals, President Kiir said Thursday that his government will not withdraw troops from the Heglig oilfield and insisted that the recent military moves against Sudan was purely in self defense.
Border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan erupted late last month, marking the biggest confrontation between the two sides after South Sudan seceded from Sudan last July. Fighting still continues, raising fears it might escalate into a full-fledged war.
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