Sudan’s army ‘liberated’ Heglig from South Sudanese troops: defense minister

Sudan’s armed forces have “liberated” Heglig, Sudan’s defense minister said on Friday, shortly after South Sudan announced it had started an unconditional withdrawal from the disputed oil-producing region.

“The ... armed forces managed to liberate Heglig town,” Defense Minister Abdul Raheem Mohammed Hussein said in a speech broadcast on state television, according to Reuters.

“The troops moved towards Heglig carefully so as not to destroy what remains of the infrastructure,” he said, dressed in military fatigues.

“Our enemy suffered heavy losses in people and equipment,” he added, after the army had maintained silence for several days about the situation on the ground.

Hussein is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against civilians in Sudan’s Darfur region several years ago, according to AFP.

His announcement came shortly after South Sudanese President Salva Kiir ordered the immediate withdrawal of his troops from Heglig, following intensified global diplomatic efforts to pull the two nations from the brink of wider war.

“The Republic of South Sudan announces that the SPLA (Southern army) troops have been ordered to withdraw from Panthou-Heglig,” Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said, reading out a presidential statement.

Sudanese troops launched a renewed counter-attack late Thursday with air strikes hitting Southern troops entrenched along the front line, Southern army spokesman Philip Aguer said.

“There was fighting on Thursday evening, SAF (Sudan’s army) was advancing and they were beaten,” he said, adding he had no reports of fighting on Friday.

Celebrations in Khartoum

The announcement set off widespread celebrations in the Sudanese capital, where the initial news that South Sudan had seized Heglig had come as a major shock to many.

At a rally attended by thousands, Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir praised the country’s armed forces for what he described as a great victory.

“The president of the SPLM said they withdrew from Heglig. There was no withdrawal. We went into Heglig after we beat them, and we went in by force. Even now, they are running,” he said.

“They started the war and we declare when it ends.”

Cars blared their horns as they rode down Khartoum’s streets. People hung out of windows waving Sudanese flags and shouting “Allahu akbar,” or “God is greatest.” Some called for Kiir’s downfall.

Tension escalates

International powers have called on Juba to pull back its forces, but Juba had resisted those calls, insisting it would do so only after Khartoum withdrew its troops from the neighboring contested Abyei region.

On Thursday United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the South’s taking of Heglig as an “illegal act,” but Juba still maintained Friday that Heglig -- which it calls Panthou in the local Dinka language -- was its territory.

“The decision to pull out of Panthou (Heglig) is without prejudice to our stand that Panthou remains an integral part of the Republic of South Sudan,” the statement added.

“We therefore expect that the final status of Panthou-Heglig, and other disputed border areas, will be referred for international arbitration.”

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has called for the destruction of the “insect” Juba government, and has launched waves of air strikes against the former civil war foe.

Kiir’s statement said that that Khartoum had to end its “air bombardments and ground incursions” into South Sudan.

The rival armies clashed heavily late Thursday, as Khartoum’s troops sought to oust entrenched Southern soldiers from positions in Heglig, Southern army spokesman Philip Aguer said.

“There was fighting on Thursday evening, SAF (Sudan’s army) was advancing and they were beaten,” he said, adding he had no reports of fighting on Friday.

However, other reports from border areas suggested fighting was still ongoing.