Sudan president aims for South Sudan's liberation

Khartoum, April 19 (IANS) Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has said his main goal now is to "liberate" the people of South Sudan from its rulers following recent border clashes.

President Bashir also described the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which has ruled South Sudan since it seceded from Sudan in July 2011, as "insects" that needed to be eliminated, BBC reported Thursday.

During a rally, in a message for the SPLM, Bashir said: "Either we end up in Juba and take everything, or you end up in Khartoum and take everything."

South Sudan seized the Heglig oil field, generally viewed as Sudanese territory, eight days ago. On Tuesday, fighting broke out north of Aweil town in South Sudan, about 160 km west of the Heglig oil field, near the border between the two countries.

Addressing a rally in Khartoum Wednesday, the Sudanese president announced "from today our slogan is to liberate the citizens of South Sudan from the rule of the SPLM, and from today it will be eye for eye, tooth for tooth and strike for strike and the beginner (of the war) is more unjust", Xinhua reported.

"We've made a mistake historically to enable the SPLM to rule the south, but we will correct this mistake, and we have a moral obligation for our people in South Sudan, that is to save them from the SPLM," he added.

His remarks came as fresh clashes reportedly erupted near Aweil town.

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council (UNSC) reiterated its call for Sudan to stop air strikes and South Sudan to withdraw from Heglig.

On Wednesday, the African Union (AU) urged both Sudan and South Sudan to "act responsibly" and immediately end the current conflict between their armed forces, as demanded by the international community, reported the Sudan Tribune.