Bashir Concerned over South Sudan, Regional Unrest

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has expressed concern about instability in neighboring South Sudan and other volatile states in the region, official media reported Sunday.

Bashir "expressed his concern about what is going on in South Sudan, Central African Republic, Libya and Egypt,” the state SUNA news agency reported.

"The role of Sudan is to support these countries in achieving stability," Bashir told a reception for former and current government officials.

World leaders have stepped up calls for South Sudan's feuding politicians to end seven days of fighting that has pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

Sudan's Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman on Friday said he was worried about the fate of oil flows which South Sudan pays cash-strapped Khartoum to move through northern pipelines for export.

He also feared an influx of refugees and guns from the unrest in South Sudan, which became independent less than three years ago under a 2005 peace deal that ended 23 years of civil war.