Sudanese military and police troops have deployed toward the border between Tadamon County of Blue Nile and Renk County of Upper Nile, near where helicopter gunships allegedly attacked SPLA forces on Sunday. The county executive on the South Sudanese side says he expects tensions to rise in the coming days.

Guot Akoi, the Renk County Commissioner, told Radio Tamazuj yesterday that the security situation in the border areas of Adham and Bibeniss is momentarily stable, in the wake of the attacks Sunday, but that troops are gathering nearby. He said that on Monday the Sudanese brought 650 central police troops in 36 vehicles under the leadership of Colonel Jalal Awad Barod from Damazin to Gulli. This force has occupied land belonging to a farmer called Al Tom, 6 kilometers from SPLA forces. 

Another force of 338 soldiers and artillery, ‘4^th Company’, moved from Damazin under the leadership of a commander identified as ‘Bashir.’ From Sennar State, a troop under the leadership of Colonel Bashir Tayeib Hassan, a commander identified as a Fellata, moved south along Ruru road in 5 Land Cruisers, 2 rocket-mounted vehicles, and 2 armored vehicles. They have taken up camp on land belonging to the Mahbob agriculture company.  

“They also have two battalions in Bout in one of the farms belonging to a South Sudanese called Kashif Abdul Rahman. They conquered it in August last year, 7 kilometers from Adham town, and we are monitoring their movements,” said the commissioner.

Radio Tamazuj was unable to independently verify these reports. Comparable troop movements on the southern side of the border likewise could not be confirmed in detail.

“I expect the tension in the border between Renk County of Upper Nile State and Tadamon County of Blue Nile state will increase in the coming days because of the Sudanese troops stationed in these areas,” said Guot Akoi.

“They want to take these areas by force but the citizens of the two counties know their border and the Sudanese government is determined to take these agricultural farms that belong to South Sudan. The Sudanese farmers who used to cultivate it are still living in Renk,” he added.