Arrested foreigners have ties to military, Sudan says
The four were held in the oil-rich region of Heglig on charges of spying
Khartoum: Sudan says three foreigners and a South Sudanese national arrested by authorities in a disputed area on the border with South Sudan had military hardware and an armoured vehicle in their possession but a representative for one of the foreigners said yesterday that they were on a mine clearing mission.
The arrests are a sign of the increased tension along the disputed border, which has seen a spike in clashes between Sudan and the newly created state of South Sudan in recent weeks. The violence has brought the two nations, already at odds over demarcating the border and dividing oil revenue, to the brink of war.
Sudanese army spokesman Colonel Sawarmi Khalid Sa'ad said on state television late Saturday that the four — a Briton, Norwegian, South African and South Sudanese — had military backgrounds. The four were arrested in Heglig, captured by South Sudanese troops earlier this month. Sudan later said it took the region back.
