Buckling economies key in Sudan’s "war of attrition"
(Reuters) – The outcome of the dramatically escalating border fighting between Sudan and South Sudan is more likely to be determined by which of the two faltering economies collapses first than by relative military prowess.
South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in July, seized the disputed Heglig oilfield on Tuesday, edging the two former civil war foes closer to full-blown conflict than any time since the South gained independence.
But rather than sparking an all-out military confrontation, each side’s aim may now be to target one another’s oil facilities and wait for their opponent to crumble under armed insurgencies, popular unrest and fuel shortages.
“It is a question of which side can maintain the basic governance and military structures longer,” a Sudan expert with government contacts said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The two countries have already driven their economies to the brink of implosion since the South split away, cleaving the vital oil industry in two.
Squabbling over oil payments and border fighting has withered combined crude output – previously the main
Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/17/uk-sudan-southsudan-idUKLNE83G00D20120417
Category: Khartoum
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