Amid escalating clashes, Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has declared war on South Sudan, vowing to retake the region which won its independence last year through an internationally-facilitated referendum.
During a rally Wednesday, in a message to South Sudan, President Bashir said: “Either we end up in Juba and take everything, or you end up in Khartoum and take everything,” referring to the two countries’ capitals.
(See the BBC’s report here, and Xinhua's here)
He also described the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which has ruled South Sudan since it seceded from Sudan in July 2011, as “insects” that needed to be eliminated.
President Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on genocide charges said his main goal now is to “liberate” the people of South Sudan from its rulers.
South Sudanese voted almost unanimously to be free of Sudanese rule in a referendum last year.
South Sudan seized the Heglig oil field, generally viewed as Sudanese territory, eight days ago. On Tuesday, fighting broke out north of Aweil town in South Sudan, about 160 km west of Heglig, near the border between the two countries.
Addressing the rally in Khartoum, President Bashir announced:
“From today our slogan is to liberate the citizens of South Sudan from the rule of the SPLM, and from today it will be eye for eye, tooth for tooth and strike for strike and the beginner (of the war) is more unjust.
“We've made a mistake historically to enable the SPLM to rule the south, but we will correct this mistake, and we have a moral obligation for our people in South Sudan, that is to save them from the SPLM.
“We say that it has turned into a disease, a disease for us and for the South Sudanese citizens. The main goal should be liberation from these insects and to get rid of them once and for all, God willing.”
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council (UNSC) reiterated its call for Sudan to stop air strikes and South Sudan to withdraw from Heglig.
On Wednesday, the African Union (AU) urged both Sudan and South Sudan to “act responsibly” and immediately end the current conflict between their armed forces, as demanded by the international community, reported the Sudan Tribune.
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