Sudan, S. Sudan say armies clash in border region

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The armed forces of Sudan and newly independent South Sudan have clashed in the volatile border region, both sides said and Sudan said its troops were in control of the Jau area, which both sides claimed was theirs.

“The SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) is trying to repulse the attackers, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF),” South Sudan’s military spokesman Philip Aguer told Reuters.
“The first attack was on Saturday when SAF started invading … It (Jau) is in South Sudan, there is no dispute about that. Jau is deep in South Sudan,” he said, Reuters reports.

Al-Sawarmi Khalid, spokesman for Sudan’s military, confirmed the clashes, but said Jau was in Sudanese territory. “Now the Sudanese army controls the Jau area, which is inside the Republic of Sudan,” he said. “South Sudan’s army tried to attack six times today.”