South Sudanese forces were continuing a pullout from Sudan’s Heglig oilfield, after the United Nations called on Juba to withdraw from the area.
South Sudanese forces were continuing a pullout from Sudan’s Heglig oilfield, after the United Nations called on Juba to withdraw from the area.
"Our troops are still withdrawing; it will take three days," Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told AFP.
"We are responding to the request of the UN Security Council and others, as a member of the UN and the African Union."
While it appeared an end was coming to the 10-day occupation, which UN chief Ban Ki-moon branded illegal, each side had its own version of what was happening.
On Friday, Sudan said its soldiers had iiberated the oil field by force, speaking after South Sudanese President Salva Kiir had already announced that "an orderly withdrawal will commence immediately."
Border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan escalated last week with waves of air strikes hitting the South, and Juba seizing the Heglig oil hub on April 10, sparking fears of a wider war.
Ban urged both governments "to resume negotiations immediately" under a mediation effort led by African Union envoy Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president.
Sudan pulled out of those talks after the Heglig invasion.
Heglig is internationally regarded as part of Sudan. However, Juba, which claimed Heglig was being used by Khartoum as a base to attack the South's oil-producing Unity state, argues Heglig is its territory and has asked for international arbitration.
OBAMA URGES TALKS
For his part, Obama said late Friday that "the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan must have the courage to return to the table and negotiate and resolve these issues peacefully."
"We know what needs to happen -- the government of Sudan must stop its military actions, including aerial bombardments," he said in a videotaped message to the people of the two countries.
"Likewise, the government of South Sudan must end its support for armed groups inside Sudan and it must cease its military actions across the border," the president added in the address, released by the State Department.
