The United Nations and the United States fear the border clashes, which broke out on Monday, could escalate and re-ignite a civil war between the mainly Muslim north and the South where most adhere to Christian and animist beliefs.
Sudan said South Sudan's army had attacked the Sudan side of the disputed Heglig oil field area, the scene of several clashes in the past days, state news agency SUNA said.
"The (Sudanese) armed forces are now dealing with the enemy forces," army spokesman Sawarmi Khalid Saad told SUNA.
There was no immediate response from South Sudan, which accused Khartoum of having bombed two areas on the oil-producing southern side of the border.
"The government of Sudan attacked Manga today at two in the morning," Pagan Amum, head of South Sudan's negotiating team, told reporters in Addis Ababa, where the African Union is trying to restart talks between the neighbors.
"Panakuach, also in Unity State, has been subjected to aerial bombardment today, including attacks by helicopter gunship," he said. "As we speak, Sudan is bombing South Sudan."
Sudan's army spokesman denied the allegation.
South Sudan became independent from Khartoum under a 2005 peace agreement that ended decades of civil war that killed 2 million people.
Both sides were supposed to resume talks this weekend but African Union officials said key members of Sudan's delegation, such as its defense minister and the chief-of-staff of its army, had yet to arrive.
Sudan's delegation said it was committed to talks as Khartoum wanted peace, without giving a time frame.
"The government confirms that dialogue with South Sudan is the right way to solve all issues and to have peace between the two states," the delegation said in a statement, SUNA reported.
Amum accused Khartoum of trying to delay the talks.
"The government of Sudan did not send the leader of their team. It is now clear that they have different intentions," he said.
As well as agreeing a halt to further hostilities, the two sides need to decide how much the landlocked South must pay to export its crude oil through Sudan. Juba has shut down its entire oil production to stop Khartoum taking oil as compensation for what it calls unpaid transit fees.
Both countries have yet to mark the 1,800 km (1,200 mile)border, much of which is disputed, or found a solution to the disputed border region of Abyei. Both sides also continue to accuse one another of supporting rebels on each other's territory.
(Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Alison Williams)
Newer articles:
- Water and Sanitation Engineers - South Sudan - Reuters AlertNet - 02/04/2012 11:04
- No simple answers in South Sudan, refugees flood the region - Mission Network NEws (press release) - 02/04/2012 06:06
- With help from Manchester, Sudanese towns have water - The Union Leader - 02/04/2012 06:00
- South Sudan accuses Sudan of fresh attacks - Oman Tribune - 02/04/2012 05:06
- South Sudan: Sudan Is Waging War, Thwarting Peace Talks - Voice of America (blog) - 02/04/2012 01:38
Older news items
- Local media under pressure in South Sudan - Borglobe - 01/04/2012 23:52
- Local media under pressure in South Sudan - Bikya Masr - 01/04/2012 22:08
- Push to bring Sudan, South Sudan into crisis talks - Capital FM Kenya - 01/04/2012 20:03
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58
- South Sudan Says Khartoum Stalls Peace Talks While Waging War - Voice of America - 01/04/2012 17:56
Latest news items (all categories):
- علاقة عقيمة من طرف واحد - 12/04/2024 01:25
- Press Release - International poetry initiative seeks poems on African experiences of migration - 04/04/2024 23:28
- South Sudan oil revenue dwindles - 31/03/2024 00:46
- The decline of Equatoria and emergence of Jieng tribal power in South Sudan - 30/03/2024 23:10
- Both SPLM-IG's No-extension and SPLM-IO's Extension Proposals are all means for No 2024 Elections - 24/03/2024 23:14
See also (all categories):
Random articles (all categories):
- Sudan-fleeing South Africans denied entry at Egyptian border - 26/04/2023 03:38
- Climate Change Exacerbating Sudan's Instability, Experts Say - 29/09/2023 03:50
- Cecafa Kagame Cup: Express lock horns with South Sudan's Atlabara - 02/08/2021 07:22
- S Sudan not facing 'genocide', but violence is constant - 06/02/2017 03:59
- Illegal poaching by foreigners ongoing in South Sudan, a case of Dr. Anour Ahmed Mohamed (President of SNP group) - 11/08/2022 10:16
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 30763 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 21840 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 20724 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 17205 times
- With prisons full, South Sudan to introduce mobile courts to clear backlog of cases - 11/10/2012 11:29 - Read 14195 times