SAF ready to protect borders with S. Sudan: spokesperson

January 7, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Armed Forces (SAF) spokesperson, al-Sawarmi Khaled Sa’ad, stressed that Sudan has not been affected so far by the conflict in South Sudan saying that SAF undertook the necessary measures to protect the borders between the two countries.

South Sudan’s clashes erupted on 15 December with fighting among a group of soldiers in the capital, Juba. The violence quickly spread to several states, cleaving the nation along the ethnic faultline of rebel leader Riek Machar’s Nuer and President Salva Kiir’s Dinka.

Sa’ad told the pro-government Ashorooq TV on Tuesday that SAF would react to any attempt to move the conflict into Sudan’s territory.

He added that SAF is currently at its best and continues to achieve victories in east and west of Jabal areas in South Kordofan state.

The military official said that SAF successfully completed the first phase of the campaign which is intended to end rebellion in South Kordofan state.

“The plan to end rebellion is moving forward according to the arrangements made”, he added

In November of last year, Sudan’s defence minister, Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, announced the beginning of the summer military operations against the rebels in Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile.

He vowed to end Sudan’s rebellions in 2014 saying that military campaign carried out in South Kordofan will be followed by another one in Darfur region.

Saad pointed that SAF closely follows the situation on the ground in the rebel areas and ready to respond to any developments, stressing that they would repulse any attack carried out by the rebel Sudan Revolutionary Forces (SRF) from southern territory.

In a separate issue, the ongoing conflict in South Sudan prevented a meeting of the Joint Political and Security Committee (JPSC) between Sudan and South Sudan.

The meeting was supposed to discuss issues of border crossings and determination of the baseline for the demilitarized security zone (zero line).

(ST)