Agok Skirmish Explained

Partof:the Heglig Crisis and Sudan-South Sudan relations
Conflict:2012 Agok border skirmish
Map Type:Sudan
Map Relief:yes
Coordinates:10.1465°N 27.6892°W
Date:17 April 2012
Place:South Kordofan, Sudan
Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan
Result:Indecisive
Combatant1: South Sudan
Combatant2: Sudan
Commander1: Salva Kiir
Commander2: Omar al-Bashir
Casualties1:7 killed [1]
Casualties2:15 killed[2]
Casualties3:Total: 22 killed[3]

The Agok Skirmish was an armed confrontation between South Sudanese and Sudanese soldiers during the Heglig Crisis. The incident raised tensions of the possibility of an all-out war between South Sudan and Sudan.

Events

On the night of April 17, 2012, a South Sudanese soldier positioned along the disputed borderline, crossed onto the Sudanese side to get water from a river. He was shot dead by a Sudanese soldier.[4] [5] The shooting sparked subsequent clashes between South Sudanese SPLA and Sudanese SAF troops in the area. The fighting lasted for hours, killing 22 soldiers.

A Sudanese spokesman claimed the action was intended to create another battle front in the war to distract Sudanese military forces in the region.[1] A South Sudanese government spokesmen labeled the fight as a "misunderstanding" and said he did not think violence would continue there.

This incident briefly raised tensions between South Sudan and Sudan that the border conflict centered around the Heglig oil fields, has the potential to spillover over elsewhere along the disputed border.[6]

Notes and References

  1. News: BBC News - Sudan and the South 'open new front' in border clash. BBC News. 18 April 2012 . 5 December 2014.
  2. News: Sudan and the South 'open new front' in border clash . 18 April 2012 . BBC News . 22 April 2012.
  3. Web site: Sudan and the South Sudan in border clash. Africangrio.com. 5 December 2014.
  4. Web site: Sudan says South made diversionary attack near Aby . 2013-02-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305023922/http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/39549/World/Region/Sudan-says-South-made-diversionary-attack-near-Aby.aspx . 2016-03-05 . dead .
  5. http://www.english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/6/39564/World/Region/-soldiers-die-in-SouthSudan-border-battle.aspx
  6. Web site: 22 soldiers die in South Sudan-Sudan border battle - the Daily Record . www.the-daily-record.com . 26 January 2022 . https://archive.today/20130411222200/http://www.the-daily-record.com/ap%20international/2012/04/18/22-soldiers-die-in-south-sudan-sudan-border-battle . 11 April 2013 . dead.