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South Sudan President Salva Kiir told his Chinese counterpart of Tuesday that Sudan had declared war on his newly-independent country, following weeks of border fighting between the two countries.
“It (this visit) comes at a very critical moment for the Republic of South Sudan because our neighbour in Khartoum has declared war on the Republic of South Sudan,” Kiir told President Hu Jintao during a meeting in Beijing.
More than 1 000 South Sudanese troops died during the battle for Sudan’s main oilfield of Heglig, the Sudanese armed forces commander said on Monday, as a stench of death filled the air.
“The numbers of killed from SPLM are 1 200,” Kamal Marouf said during an address to thousands of troops in the area, from which Southern forces said they had withdrawn at the weekend.
The toll is impossible to verify but an AFP correspondent who accompanied Marouf said the putrid bodies of dead South Sudanese soldiers lay beneath trees which are scattered about the area.
Israeli forces are carrying out more special operations beyond the country’s borders and will be ready to attack Iran’s nuclear sites if ordered, the chief-of-staff said in an interview on Sunday.
In an extract from an interview with the top-selling Yediot Aharanot daily, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said that 2012 would be a critical year in efforts to halt what Israel and much of the international community believe is an Iranian nuclear arms programme.
Yemeni government troops seized control Friday of part of an Al Qaeda stronghold in the country’s lawless south after fierce fighting that has left at least 25 militants dead, a military official said.
After launching an attack overnight, the army pushed into the outskirts of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, while the rest of the city remained in the hands of al-Qaeda-linked militants, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
President Salva Kiir has ordered for the immediate withdrawal of the SPLA from the the disputed oil town of Heglig.
A statement from the President read by the government spokesperson, Marial Benjamin to journalists on Friday said the withdrawal was in conformity with the request by the UN Security Council and world leaders.
“The Republic of South Sudan announces that SPLA troops have been ordered to withdraw from Panthou (Heglig). The withdrawal of troops will commence immediately,” Marial said.