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Sudan, S.Sudan sign security pact to defuse tensions |
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Saturday, 11 February 2012ADDIS ABABA - Sudan and South Sudan on Friday signed a security agreement which aims to defuse tensions over oil payments which officials had warned could spark a war between the two countries.
Landlocked South Sudan took three-quarters of Sudan's oil production -- the lifeline of both economies -- but needs to sell its crude through northern export facilities.
Both countries have failed to agree on a transit pipeline fee. Juba shut down last month its entire oil output after Khartoum started seizing southern oil as compensation for what it calls unpaid fees.
Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir warned last week that the tensions with South Sudan, which became independent in July, could lead to war between the two countries.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has been trying to mediate an end to the tensions, said the deal was a "non-aggression pact" aimed at avoiding any armed conflict.
"This deal addresses those issues," Mbeki told reporters when asked whether the agreement would defuse the threat of war. |
Saturday, 11 February 2012
The Jerusalem Post
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