Khartoum calls on UN Security Council to fulfil its responsibilities

Sudan has asked the UN Security Council to fulfil its responsibilities with regard to what it calls “attacks by South Sudan” in the Heglig region near the border between the two countries. In a press statement released on Wednesday, 11 April, and broadcast by the Centre for Press Services, Sudan’s representative in the Security Council, Ambassador al-Hajj, said, “Forces of the [South Sudan] Popular Movement have caused the intimidation of thousands of civilians in the city of Heglig and areas extending from the border to the Heglig region”.

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Mr al-Hajj asserted that Darfurian rebel movement forces had participated in attacks, and accused the Fourth Division Commander in the popular armed forces, James Qatwil, of giving his approval for the attacks on Heglig.

The Sudanese ambassador demanded that the Security Council compel the government of South Sudan to withdraw immediately from all Sudanese territory and to hold it fully responsible for any losses among civilians, as well as any damage or sabotage to oil installations in the region. He stressed that the Sudanese government reserves its full and legitimate right under the United Nations Charter and international law to protection for its territorial integrity.

He also put forward his position regarding the attack to his counterparts and delegates of the African Group Counties at the headquarters of the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union in New York. He said, “We believed that expressions such as this aggression, and the violation of the peace of the territories, are characteristic of the period of colonialism. However, in only a few hours this has been proven an erroneous belief when forces from the South of Sudan attacked the city of Heglig inside Sudanese territory using artillery and heavy weaponry.”