KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan’s president threatened Wednesday to topple his rival government to the south, harsh words that could escalate the conflict between the two nations as they intensify clashes over their shared border.
As the international community pushed for a peaceful solution to the dispute, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed to “liberate” the people of South Sudan, saying it was his country’s duty to them.
South Sudan broke away from Sudan in July after decades of civil war, creating the world’s newest country. But the two never agreed on how to share the oil wealth found in the region between the countries, and the border was never fully demarcated.
Fighting has intensified in the past several weeks amid fears the two sides could return to an all-out war. On Tuesday, soldiers from Sudan and South Sudan clashed at a river dividing their countries, leaving 22 dead as fighting spread to a new area of the tense border.
The river battle comes amid wider violence along the shared border around the oil town of Heglig, which South Sudan troops took control of last week. Sudanese aircraft have been bombing South Sudan’s Unity State as a part of that fighting.
African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki urged the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to take action to stop the fighting between Sudan and South Sudan, warning that both sides are locked in a “logic of war,” with hardliners increasingly in control.
Security Council members promised to urgently discuss the crisis, including the possibility of sanctions, said U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, the current Security Council president.
