<p>South Sudan said on Friday it would withdraw its troops from the disputed Heglig oil region more than a week after seizing it from Sudan, pulling the countries back from the brink of war.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Sudan quickly declared victory, saying its armed forces had “liberated” the area as thousands of people poured onto the streets of Khartoum cheering and dancing.<br /><br />South Sudan’s seizure of the territory had raised the prospect of two sovereign African states waging war against each other openly for the first time since Ethiopia fought newly-independent Eritrea in 1998-2000.<br /><br />Tensions have been rising since South Sudan split away from Sudan as an independent country in July, under the terms of a 2005 settlement, taking with it most of the country’s known oil reserves. <br /><br />The countries are still at loggerheads over position of their shared border and other disputes between them have already halted nearly all the oil production that underpins both economies.<br /><br />South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir ordered the withdrawal of his troops within three days, the country’s information minister told reporters.<br /></p>
<p>South Sudan said on Friday it would withdraw its troops from the disputed Heglig oil region more than a week after seizing it from Sudan, pulling the countries back from the brink of war.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Sudan quickly declared victory, saying its armed forces had “liberated” the area as thousands of people poured onto the streets of Khartoum cheering and dancing.<br /><br />South Sudan’s seizure of the territory had raised the prospect of two sovereign African states waging war against each other openly for the first time since Ethiopia fought newly-independent Eritrea in 1998-2000.<br /><br />Tensions have been rising since South Sudan split away from Sudan as an independent country in July, under the terms of a 2005 settlement, taking with it most of the country’s known oil reserves. <br /><br />The countries are still at loggerheads over position of their shared border and other disputes between them have already halted nearly all the oil production that underpins both economies.<br /><br />South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir ordered the withdrawal of his troops within three days, the country’s information minister told reporters.<br /></p>