China wants Sudan oil deal by Christmas and Sudan and S. Sudan armies clash in disputed border region

China wants Sudan oil deal by Christmas

Reuters

China wants Sudan and South Sudan to resolve a row over oil transit fees by Christmas in order to avoid any potential distruptions of crude supply from the new nation, the Asian country’s special envoy said on Wednesday.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in July under a 2005 peace deal, taking about three-quarters of the formerly united country’s roughly 500,000 barrels per day of oil output.

To export crude, South Sudan must still send it through pipelines that run north to a Red Sea port in Sudan. The two have still not agreed how much South Sudan should pay as a transit fee.

The dispute heated up last month when Khartoum said it would take a portion of South Sudan’s government’s oil exports to make up for arrears it says its southern neighbour owes.

http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE7B700G20111208

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Sudan, S.Sudan armies clash in disputed border region

By Hereward Holland and Khalid Abdelaziz

Reuters

JUBA/KHARTOUM – The armed forces of Sudan and South Sudan clashed in a border region claimed by both sides on Wednesday, in a rare direct confrontation between the old civil war foes.

Both countries said they would bring complaints against the other to the United Nations, moves likely to hinder already tense talks over issues such as oil and debt that have been unresolved since South Sudan seceded in July.

South Sudan’s military spokesman, Philip Aguer, said the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) bombarded the Jau area with warplanes and used artillery to hit positions of the south’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7B700O20111208