Sudan Stops South Sudanese Leaving As Border Clashes Resume - Wall Street Journal

--Fighting was continuing Tuesday along the poorly defined border

--The countries are haggling over how much South Sudan should pay for using Sudanese oil pipelines and ports

--This is latest in a string of rows between the two countries

(Updates throughout with latest information on clashes, response from South Sudan.)

KAMPALA, Uganda (Dow Jones)--Sudanese authorities have prevented hundreds of South Sudanese citizens from returning to their country as clashes along the nations' oil-rich border resumed Tuesday, underscoring deteriorating relations between the former civil war foes.

Sudanese war planes pounded the South Sudan oil town of Teshwin overnight Monday and fighting was continuing Tuesday along the poorly defined border, South Sudanese army spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said by telephone from Juba, the South Sudan capital.

"Fighting is still going on but our forces have managed to repulse them" he said. "Their aim is to damage our oil facilities."

According to Aguer, Sudanese troops started the attack from the oil town of Heglig, which is located along the disputed border region with South Sudan. The 60,000 barrels-a-day Heglig oil field currently under the control of Sudan has become a major battle ground in recent days as the two forces vie for its control. A Sudanese government spokesman couldn't be reached for an immediate comment.

The countries have yet to agree on a proper demarcation of their 1,800-kilometer, oil-rich border, and are haggling over how much South Sudan should pay for using Sudanese oil pipelines and ports.

Meanwhile, thousands of South Sudanese have remained stranded at Sudanese airports since Monday after being denied permission to board flights over a dispute over their status in Sudan.

Rabie Abdelaty, the Sudanese government spokesman, told Dow Jones Newswires the southerners have to legalize their status in Sudan because they are no longer Sudanese citizens.

"Their existence in our country isn't legal," he said.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal website, WSJ.com.)

According to Abdelaty, up to 500,000 southerners in Sudan are required to have passports to be allowed to leave, following the expiry of an April 9 deadline. South Sudan has no embassy in Sudan.

South Sudan interior ministry officials traveled to Khartoum Monday for talks with Sudanese authorities in a bid to ease the standoff, a South Sudan government spokesman said.

"Our officials are in Khartoum to sort out the issue" he said, adding Sudanese officials would start producing travel documents and passports mainly for students and officials working with international organizations and diplomatic missions in Sudan. Southerners wishing to stay in the north must obtain resident visas as foreigners, according to Sudanese officials.

Analysts have said Khartoum's decision could be a negotiating ploy to push South Sudan for concessions on some of the unresolved post secession issues such as border demarcation, oil-transit fees and sharing Sudan's external debt.

This is the latest in a string of rows between the two countries, in which South Sudan has shut in 350,000 barrels a day of oil exports on a disagreement over fees paid to move the oil through Sudan to export terminals.

In recent weeks, armies of the countries have been engaged in the most deadly clashes since the country divided last year. South Sudan also recently accused Sudan of attempting to build an illegal pipeline across the border to access oil fields in its Unity state.

The presidents of the countries were due to meet last week to sign a deal on the protection of each other's citizens and the demarcation of their border, but the summit was canceled following an escalation of border clashes.

-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 256-75-2624615; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.