The Sudanese government has announced that it is \u201ccancelling all treaties and agreements with South Sudan in reaction to the country\u2019s continued support of the rebels\u201d.<\/p>\n
At a press conference organised by the Sudan News Agency in Khartoum\u2019s Friendship Hall, Sudan\u2019s Minister of Information, Dr Ahmed Bilal Osman, announced on Sunday that \u201cthe government has cancelled all agreements between Sudan and South Sudan,\u201d and that \u201cthe pumping of South Sudanese oil via Sudanese pipelines is also to be stopped\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to sources, President Omar Al Bashir said this decision was \u201cin response to Juba\u2019s continued support to the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebels fighting Khartoum on multiple fronts\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe previously gave Juba a two-week ultimatum to suspend its support for the traitors and mercenaries of the SRF.\u201d<\/p>\n
Al Bashir on Saturday ordered Oil Minister Awad Ahmed Al Jaz to block the pipeline carrying landlocked South Sudan\u2019s crude oil to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast: \u201cThe oil of South Sudan will not pass through Sudan ever again. Let them take it via Kenya or Djibouti or wherever they want to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis move will have no negative influence on the Sudanese economy because all incomes from the transport of oil have been kept out of the budget for the last two years,\u201d Minister Osman asserts. \u201cSudanese national security cannot be traded for a few dollars,\u201d he said, acknowledging that \u201cthe decision will be damaging for both countries, but the damage to South Sudan will be greater.\u201d<\/p>\n
Osman said that the technical procedure to shut-down the oil supply will last two months.<\/p>\n
The South Sudan Minister of Information, Bernaba Marial Benjamin denied that his country has received any official notification of the closure or cancellation of the treaties. Speaking to Radio Dabanga from Juba, he said that this government has had to glean what it could from media reports.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this is true, the South Sudan government will lodge an official complaint with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the African Union (AU) and all other stakeholders in the internationally brokered agreement.”<\/p>\n
Benjamin branded Khartoum\u2019s move as \u201cstrange\u201d, stressing that the Juba government \u201cadheres to all treaties with the Sudanese government\u201d and denies that Juba has given any support to the SRF. \u201cWe have no resources to do so,\u201d he says. \u201cThe oil pipelines were closed for two years, so we simply have no means by which to support the Sudanese rebels.\u201d<\/p>\n
He highlighted that an estimated 700,000 barrels of crude oil are currently in the pipeline and questioned whether the Sudanese government will be able to compensate for that. \u201cThere are also dangers involved in closing the pipeline. It could explode, which will result in an environmental catastrophe. Our geographical location means that the environmental impact would impact on countries all the way down the Nile including Sudan and Egypt.\u201d Benjamin added that his government holds Khartoum responsible for any damages.<\/p>\n
It has been widely reported that the South Sudan government has recently met with international investors, particularly from Japan, to explore building an alternative pipeline, but such a project could take several years to complete.<\/p>\n
The Chairman of the National Consensus Forces, the non-armed opposition forces in Khartoum, Farouk Abu Issa compared Bashir\u2019s decision to \u201csomeone poking his own eye out.\u201d Speaking to Radio Dabanga, he said \u201cSudan has no alternative but to reverse this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe treaty is the result of a UNSC Resolution, and if Sudan does not adhere to it, it will result in more international sanctions.\u201d He described the move as \u2018disastrous\u2019 for Sudanese economy. \u201cIt could even lead to the collapse of the Sudanese Pound and then to inflation. South Sudan might be able to find alternative financing but not Sudan,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n
File photo<\/em><\/p>\n Related: <\/em>South Sudan denies offering support to rebels<\/a> (12 May 2013)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n