South Darfur mobilising troops to repulse SPLA

Sudan's vice president and chairman of the higher committee for mobilisation and alert, Ali Othman Taha, received Tuesday the governor of South Darfur, Hammad Ismail Hammad, who briefed Taha on the region's security. Hammad said in press statement that the meeting touched on the security situation at the state borders and repeated aggression of South Sudanese forces allegedly supported by armed mercenaries and Darfur rebel movements. He described the situation in South Darfur as stable, saying the state had mobilised more than 3000 mujahideens (mercenaries) in support of the Sudanese army. For his part, Taha called for maintaining a state of alert in the southern borders of Sudan, so the state "would be ready to address continuing SPLA (South Sudan's army) aggressions, particularly on the border between Sudan and the Southern state of Bahr al-Ghazal. Sudan has been locked in battle with South Sudan after the latter gained independence last year. The two countries are fighting over a number of issues such as demarcation of borders, the distribution of oil wealth and continued military aggression on both sides.