U.N. Chief Says Sudan Oil Row Threat to Regional Security
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warned Sunday that a furious row between Sudan and South Sudan threatened regional security.
Ban said both Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir lacked the "political will" to tackle border and oil disputes since the South seceded last July.
"The situation in Sudan and South Sudan has reached a critical point, it has become a major threat to peace and security across the region," Ban told reporters on the sidelines of a two-day African Union summit.
Khartoum and Juba are at loggerheads over pipeline transit fees to transport the South's oil to port in the rump state of Sudan.
Tensions have also risen over the two countries' still demarcated border -- cutting through oil fields -- as well as allegations by each side that the other backs proxy rebel forces against the other.
"The international community needs to act, and it needs to act now," Ban added. "As long as these issues remain unresolved, tensions will only grow."
Source: Agence France Presse
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