Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Sudan and its new southern neighbor have been advancing
toward full-scale war.

Western diplomats said fighting between Sudan and South Sudan has been
the worst since the separation of the two entities in July 2011. They said
both militaries appeared ready to fight a full-scale war.

“For a while, both were fighting a war by proxy, but now the war is directly between Sudan and South Sudan,” a diplomat said.

Earlier this month, both countries reported heavy fighting along their border. In the latest development, South Sudan captured the town of Heglig, 100 kilometers east of the disputed oil-rich Abyei region.

“Fierce battles are still going on, and the situation has not yet been resolved,” Sudan Army spokesman Col. Sawarme Khaled said on April 11.

The diplomats said South Sudan has been bolstered by the procurement of major defense systems, including radars and surface-to-air missiles. The South Sudan military has already claimed the downing of a MiG-29 of the Sudanese Air Force.

Khartoum’s military consists mostly of Chinese and Russian combat
platforms. Diplomats said Khartoum was using its MiG-29 fleet to bomb South
Sudan.

The African Union and the United States have sought to mediate a
ceasefire between Juba and Khartoum. In early April, AU mediator Thabo Mbeki
held talks with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his Sudanese
counterpart, Omar Bashir.

“The war has widened,” South Sudanese Information Minister Barnaba
Marial Benjamin said. “The battle is raging. It is spreading all over.”

  oil-rich Abyei region, South Sudan on track for all-out war, South Sudan President Salva Kiir, Sudan, Sudan President Omar Bashir, Sudanese Air Force MiG-29