Sudan\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Army Spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad (file photo).<\/p>\n
Sudan has blamed rebels based in South Sudan for a blast and fire in its Diffra oil field in the disputed Abyei area, claimed by Khartoum and Juba.\n<\/p>\n
In a Thursday statement, Sudan\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Army Spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad said that the rebels \u00c5\u201c\u2026received technical support from South Sudan’s army to help them explode the pipeline (on Wednesday)… which led to a fire that has now been controlled.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
This comes after Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir ordered the stoppage of oil transfers through Sudanese territory from South Sudan, saying the government of President Salva Kiir is supporting rebels in Sudan.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cBashir ordered the minister of oil to stop the flow of South Sudanese oil from tomorrow, Sunday,\u201d Sudan\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s state media reported on June 8.\n<\/p>\n
“Sudan will not allow revenues from oil exports from South Sudan to be used to support rebels and mercenaries against Sudan,” Bashir said.\n<\/p>\n
Sudan\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman and the country’s intelligence chief Mohammed Atta both confirmed that the oil shutdown started and it would continue for 60 days.\n<\/p>\n
This is while, Juba denies Khartoum\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s accusations of supporting rebels in Sudan.\n<\/p>\n
In March, Sudan and South Sudan struck a deal to resume the flow of southern oil exports through pipelines in the north. The pipelines, which are South Sudan’s only route to international market, carry oil from the landlocked South through Sudan to a port on the Red Sea.\n<\/p>\n
Two neighbors also agreed to withdraw their troops from contested border areas to ease tensions and facilitate the resumption of oil exports.\n<\/p>\n
South Sudan seceded from the Republic of Sudan on July 9, 2011, after decades of conflict with Khartoum. The new oil-rich nation is one of the least developed countries in the world, with one in seven children dying before the age of five.\n<\/p>\n
MAM\/HN<\/p>\n<\/div>\n