Sudan's President Omar Al Bashir said the government would halt oil flow from South Sudan.
Bashir said this decision was in response to South’s continued support to the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebels fighting in Khartoum on multiple fronts.
Bashir had warned at the end of May that he would block the transfer of oil if the South's government in Juba provided assistance to rebels fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, or in the Darfur region. However, South Sudan denied supporting the rebels.
In September of last year, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, border trade among others.
Heglig, along the disputed border with South Sudan, is where the export pipeline begins a journey of about 1,500 km to the Port Sudan terminal on the Red Sea.
The pipeline will carry oil that will bring billions of dollars in revenue to both countries once exports resume.
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