United Nations Security Council Threatens Khartoum, Juba With Sanctions

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has resisted US efforts to destabilize this oil-rich central African nation. Now the Americans want to tighten economic sanctions against the country., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

UN Security Council threatens Khartoum, Juba with sanctions

Wed May 2, 2012 11:33PM GMT
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The United Nations has threatened both Sudan and South Sudan with non-military sanctions if they fail to halt fighting on their common border.

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution, which calls on Khartoum and Juba to “immediately cease all hostilities" by giving a written commitment to end fighting by the end of 48 hours, and to resume negotiations within two weeks under an African Union (AU) roadmap to ultimately reach an agreement in the course of three months, AFP reported.

According to the resolution, if either side fails to abide by the terms, “additional measures" under Article 41 of the UN Charter, which obligates non-military sanctions, will be taken.

The Security Council condemns repeated cross-border conflicts between the two sides and the South's seizure of Sudan’s main oil-rich town of Heglig last month.

On April 24, the AU had also asked the two neighbors to end hostilities and engage in peace talks.

Heglig, located in southern Sudan, is internationally regarded as part of Sudan, something South Sudan disputes.

Juba’s troops occupied Heglig on April 10. Ten days later, Khartoum announced that the Sudanese Army had forced Southern Sudanese troops out of the town.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sudanese officials said they had begun pumping oil from Heglig again after repairing the town’s oilfield.

Sudan accuses South Sudan, which seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011, of supporting anti-government rebels operating in the Darfur region and the southern states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

South Sudan’s independence took place after decades of conflict with the north. The new oil-rich nation is one of the least developed countries in the world, with one in every seven children dying before the age of five.