Sudan army advances towards disputed town

Sudans army said it was advancing on the disputed town of Heglig on Friday in an attempt to oust South Sudanese forces from the oil-producing area after the south said it would withdraw only if the United Nations intervened.Fighting between Sudan and South Sudan this week has brought the two closer to a resumption of full-blown conflict, nine months after the south seceded under a peace deal that ended decades of civil war.South Sudan seized the Heglig oilfield near the border on Tuesday (April 10), sparking widespread condemnation. The African Union denounced the occupation as illegal and urged the two sides to avert a disastrous war.Heglig, which the south claims as its own, is vital to Sudans economy because it has a field accounting for about half of its 115,000 barrel-a-day oil output. The fighting has stopped crude production there, officials say.Sudans military, which has vowed to strike back if the Souths army (SPLA) did not withdraw, said its forces were on the outskirts of Heglig and pushing forward.The armed forces are continuously advancing toward Heglig and we confirm we are at its borders, said Sudans military spokesperson Al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad.