No Talks with South, Sudan's Bashir Says in Heglig
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said Monday there will be no more talks with South Sudan, despite the urging of U.S. President Barack Obama and United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon.
"No negotiation with those people," he said of the South Sudanese regime, which he earlier described as an "insect" that must be eliminated.
"Our talks with them were with guns and bullets," he told soldiers in the main oil region of Heglig, which the South occupied for 10 days.
On Friday, Bashir and Defense Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein -- both wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region -- declared the army had forced Southern soldiers out of Heglig.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir had already announced that his forces would leave under "an orderly withdrawal". His army said the pullout was completed on Sunday.
Border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan escalated early this month with waves of air strikes hitting the South, and Juba seizing the Heglig oil hub on April 10, sparking fears of a wider war.
Obama said late Friday that "the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan must have the courage to return to the table and negotiate and resolve these issues peacefully."
Ban urged both governments "to resume negotiations immediately" under a mediation effort led by African Union envoy Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president.
Sudan pulled out of those talks after the Heglig invasion.
Source: Agence France Presse
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