Khartoum Denies South Sudan's Claim On Bombing Heglig's Oil Facilities - AllAfrica.com

Khartoum/Juba — Sudan has denied claims by South Sudan that its air forces bombed "to rubble" oil infrastructure in Heglig, warning that Juba will be held responsible for any damage done in the disputed area.

South Sudan's information minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told reporters in Juba on Sunday that Sudanese air forces were bombing main oil facilities in Heglig.

"They are bombing the central processing facility and the tanks to rubble as we speak," he said on Sunday evening.

"Central processing units and tanks in the Heglig oil field were hit in the bombing, and we do not know the goal of it, because there are no military confrontations in the oil field area," he further said.

But Benjamin's counterpart, Sudan's media minister Abdulla Massar, denied the allegation and suggested that South Sudan's army, SPLA, could be behind any damage.

Massar told Sudan's official news agency, SUNA, on Sunday that the Sudanese army did not attack Heglig's oilfields and has no intention even to attack oilfields in South Sudan.

He added that if such damage is true, then it could be the result of SPLA's actions, warning that the Sudanese government holds South Sudan's responsible for any destruction of oil fields and facilities in the area.

Taking the possibility for granted, Sudan's state minister for media Sana Hamad Al-Awad said on Sunday that the destruction of oil facilities in Heglig represents a new level of aggression by South Sudan.

Likewise, the political secretary of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP), Hasabu Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, warned that Sudan would assess the damage caused to oil facilities and adopt all legal and diplomatic means to take the rights of oil companies operating in the region.

South Sudan's army took control of Heglig last week in response to alleged attack by the Sudanese army, causing international alarm and degeneration of already-strained relations between Khartoum and Juba to a cycle of military confrontations.

Juba disputed Sudan's ownership of Heglig which contains oilfields producing almost half of Khartoum's daily output of 115,000 barrels.

Demarcation of borders is among a host of contentious issues Sudan and South Sudan were negotiating before the recent outbreak of violence saw their talks come to a halt.