copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-28): The Heglig Crisis[18] was a brief war fought between the countries of Sudan and South Sudan in 2012 over oil-rich regions between South Sudan's Unity and Sudan's South Kordofan states. South Sudan invaded and briefly occupied the small border town of Heglig before being pushed back by the Sudanese army. Small-scale clashes continued until an agreement on borders and natural resources was signed on 26 September, resolving most aspects of the conflict. [...] On 15 April 2012, the Arab Parliament called on South Sudan for restraint and to withdraw from the town of Heglig. A statement signed by Arab Parliament head Salem Deqbasi said that the Arab Parliament's bureau called on South Sudan to "heed the voice of reason" and immediately pull its forces out of the areas it had occupied inside Sudanese territory, including Heglig.[96] On 26 April, the Arab League escalated its rhetoric, condemning South Sudan's "aggression" and saying Heglig belongs to Sudan. The Arab League went further to say it supported Sudan's "right to defend itself", and condemned South Sudan's alleged support of rebels in Sudan.[91] [...] - ^ "Yemen condemns South Sudan occupation of Heglig". SabaNet. 21 April 2012. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-14): In short, the location of Heglig remains to be negotiated, even as Khartoum refuses to negotiate—and the regime is distinctly less likely to do so now that its pre-emptive geographic claim of the region has been ratified by a series of statements by international actors of consequence. Given Juba’s determination that Heglig will not be allowed to become a future staging ground for additional assaults on Southern territory, and the strong belief by many Southerners that Heglig is south of the "1 January 1956 boundary," either the geographic status of Heglig is negotiated, or there will be no peace. The same international actors who have explicitly or implicitly declared that Heglig lies in (northern) Sudan also profess to support the CPA and its implementation. But how does this square with the acquiescence before Khartoum’s seizure of Abyei, in violation of not only the Abyei Protocol of the CPA but the ruling by the PCA? Nothing has changed in the eleven months since Abyei was seized, except for the deployment of an Ethiopian brigade that operates without a human rights mandate, no Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Khartoum. Most significantly, it cannot provide the security necessary for the return of more than 100,000 Dinka Ngok displaced to the South during the seizure of Abyei, especially given Khartoum’s refusal to withdraw its SAF or militia forces, as it agreed to do on June 20, 2011. [...] • "The move by the South Sudanese armed forces to occupy Heglig in Sudan is completely unacceptable," declared the UK’s Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-10): Heglig, or Panthou (also spelled Heglieg or Pandthow), is a small town at the border between the South Kordofan state of Sudan and the Unity State in South Sudan. The entirety of Heglig is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, but administered by Sudan. The area was contested during the Sudanese Civil War. In mid-April 2012, South Sudan's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) captured the Heglig oil field from Sudan.[1] Sudan took it back at the Second Battle of Heglig ten days later.[2] [...] Heglig is situated within the Muglad Basin, a rift basin which contains much of South Sudan's proven oil reserves. The Heglig oil field was first developed in 1996 by Arakis Energy (now part of Talisman Energy).[citation needed] Today it is operated by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company.[4] Production at Heglig is reported to have peaked in 2006 and is now in decline.[5] The Heglig oil field is connected to Khartoum and Port Sudan via the Greater Nile Oil Pipeline.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-20): South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has ordered the withdrawal of his troops from the Heglig oil field in Sudan. [...] Mr Kiir said the South still believed that Heglig was a part of South Sudan and that its final status should be determined by international arbitration, Associated Press reported. Heglig is internationally accepted to be part of Sudanese territory - although the precise border is yet to be demarcated.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-11): Sudan vows to retake Heglig oil fields from South Sudan - Published [...] South Sudanese troops seized control of Heglig on Tuesday, as heavy fighting raged for a second day. [...] Oil-rich Heglig is usually recognised as being part of the north, although South Sudan disputes this.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-05-25): The small, remote oil town of Heglig, known as Panthou to South Sudan, is apparently located on northern Sudan's side of the 1956 border. However, older maps don't label the town at all, and until 2003 it was administered as part of Unity State in the Southern Sudan region. Then, just after the Sudan government and the future independent South had agreed not to share oil from north of the border, the government abruptly informed the southerners that Heglig in fact belonged to the north's Southern Kordofan state. [...] Minds in the south weren't changed so easily, and after two weeks of border clashes starting in late March of this year, South Sudan invaded Heglig. The southern government claimed they were only retaliating against earlier attacks by the north, but Sudan and the U.N. denounced it as an act of aggression. The South Sudanese army occupied Heglig from April 10-20, and advanced nearly as far as Kharasana (also Kersana, Karasana, Karasanah) before turning back - whether out of defeat or in order to stem international criticism is not clear. The front line has since moved back to Teshwin (also Tachiuen, Tishwin, Tashwin), an uninhabited spot on the 1956 border. Sudanese air strikes during the confrontation occurred deep within South Sudanese territory (PDF), including in Unity State's capital of Bentiu, as well as Panakuac (also Pan Akuach, Pana Kuach), a military position on the road to Teshwin.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-19): Mr. Ban called on South Sudan to immediately withdraw its forces from the oil-producing region of Heglig in Sudan’s South Kordofan state, describing this as "an infringement on the sovereignty of Sudan and a clearly illegal act."
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-20): The announcement from President Salva Kiir said the south still believes that the town of Heglig is a part of South Sudan. Kiir said he expects its final status to be determined by international arbitration. [...] In the presidential statement he read, South Sudan government spokesman Barnaba Marial Benjamin referred to Heglig by the name the south calls it -- Panthou. Military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said the withdrawal would be completed within three days. [...] Ban on Thursday called on South Sudan to immediately withdraw from Heglig area, calling the invasion "an infringement on the sovereignty of Sudan and a clearly illegal act." He called on the government of Sudan to immediately stop shelling and bombing South Sudanese territory and withdraw its forces from disputed territories including Abyei.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-20): Noting Announced Withdrawal of South Sudan from Heglig, Secretary-General Urges Immediate Resumption of Negotiations with Sudanese Government Noting Announced Withdrawal of South Sudan from Heglig, Secretary-General [...] The Secretary-General takes note of the announcement by the Government of South Sudan that it is withdrawing from Heglig and urges the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to resume negotiations immediately under the auspices of the African Union High-level Panel to resolve the outstanding issues between them.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-05-16): When CPA negotiators first addressed the matter of Abyei, the issue was further complicated by the fact that it was considered to be an oil-rich territory. The Abyei Boundary Commission, set up in 2005 to demarcate the territory of the nine Dinka chiefdoms, had included the Heglig oil fields in Abyei’s territory. This inclusion was a blow to Khartoum because in the short run, Abyei would keep more of the oil revenue it produced, and in the long run, the South might keep it all if Abyei voted for secession, as appeared likely. Khartoum thus appealed the decision of the Abyei Commission and the issue was taken up by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which in 2009 ruled that Heglig was not historically part of the old chiefdoms’ territory but was located in Kordofan state. The oil town was thus taken from Abyei and placed within South Kordofan’s borders, making it a contested hot spot that both North and South Sudan claim to be a part of their territories.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2001-03-06): Chevron’s presence spanned major developments in Sudan’s modern postcolonial history. Chevron was granted its oil concession in 1974, shortly after the agreement on southern autonomy ended the separatist war in the south. Chevron discovered oil in this autonomous region in 1978, and by the time a second civil war broke out in the south in 1983 was developing Unity and Heglig oilfields. Located in today’s GNPOC Blocks 1 and 2 in Western Upper Nile/Unity State, these oilfields were home to the Nuer and Dinka, members of the two largest ethnic groups in southern Sudan. [...] In the north of Western Upper Nile, the government used displacement to make the area "safe" for foreign and northern-based exploitation of oil. The Heglig oil location (in Block 2) was not densely populated, but Dinka lived dispersed in the whole Heglig area and moved their cattle tocattle camps in that same region, according to contemporary accounts, the memories of former residents, and older maps.140 [...] 118 Alier, Southern Sudan, p. 240. According a former governor of Unity State, "Heglig point" was twenty-four kilometers inside the state. Taban Deng Gai, former governor of Unity State, Human Rights Watch interview, Khartoum, July 26, 1999.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-23): In just over a week, the volatile components behind Sudan’s division into two nations — oil, religion, ethnic rivalry, guerrilla militias, disputed borders — have burst into war. TIME photographer Dominic Nahr has been on assignment in South Sudan’s ironically named Unity State, whose northern edge includes disputed boundaries with its enemy Sudan — one of which is marked only by a white cargo container. In the last nine days, South Sudan forces have pushed north into Sudanese territory, taking the disputed town of Heglig, only to pull back under fire and see enemy soldiers press south instead. Nahr filed this dispatch on Sunday. [...] No one seems to know what’s going on and when I try to reach the front lines I mostly get stalled or put-off by soldiers, commanders and officials. In the end I hitched a ride with southern soldiers to Heglig, a disputed town that South Sudan occupied for a few days. They were less concerned with the fighting than they were with filling the pick-up truck with looted beds, mattresses, laptops and printers from the town. On another drive the hood of our truck, which was held on with rope, flipped up and smashed the windscreen as we flew down a rutted dirt road.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-27): The location of Heglig/Panthou in relation to the North/South border at the time of Sudan’s independence (January 1, 1956) continues to be misrepresented by not only the Arab League and African Union, but now (implicitly) by the UN Security Council, which has introduced the threat of sanctions against Khartoum and Juba if the African Union vision of how peace is to be achieved is not followed. Let us recall first the view of the African Union, which on April 14, 2012 "noted with alarm, the occupation of the Heglig by the forces of (South Sudan) …." (all emphases added) [...] "Heglig, which is known as Thou (or Panthou) in Dinka, was one of the territories depopulated by militias during the second civil war, when Sudan used paramilitary Popular Defence Forces (PDF) to clear southern residents from areas around oil-producing sites. For many Dinka at the border, accepting Sudan’s possession of these territories is tantamount to accepting the ethnic clearings of the 80s and 90s." [...] It is important to recall again that the July 2009 Abyei boundary ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration did not place Heglig in northern Sudan or South Sudan; it simply said that Heglig lies to the east of Abyei:
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-05-09): The disputed area of Heglig, or Panthou as it is being referred to in South Sudan, grabbed the world’s attention in the past weeks. On 10 April 2012 the Government of the Republic of South Sudan announced that they had successfully occupied the area which most people had understood to be part of Sudan in the troubled state of Southern Kordofan. [...] While South Sudanese maintain that they have always considered the area of Panthou (Heglig) to be part of South Sudan, the dispute remained generally off the radar, overshadowed by issues such as the ownership of Abyei and negotiations on oil revenues. The issue of ownership of Panthou/Heglig was not high on the agenda of actors within South Sudan, other than as part of the overall need for border demarcation. The ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which had been given the mandate to delimit the borders of Abyei and was to constitute a final and binding ruling, released its decision on 22 July 2009 stating that Heglig was not within the territory of Abyei. With this came an assumption by many that if Heglig is not a part of the disputed area of Abyei, and was not mentioned as part of other disputed areas, then it was part of Southern Kordofan State, Sudan.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-12-01): South Sudan says it was responding to aerial bombardments and a ground attack on its territory, and has shown no desire to pull back. Instead, officials in the capital, Juba, have reiterated a claim that Heglig belongs to the south. [...] Sources say that Khartoum's forces struck first, possibly in an attempt to dislodge South Sudan's army from a base at Teshwin on the disputed border which it had taken two weeks earlier. On Tuesday, the north bombarded several targets in Unity state, in South Sudan, before the ground troops moved in. "The Sudanese attacked first, but they didn't have as many soldiers, so they were forced to flee," said an oil industry worker in the Heglig area who did not want to be named. [...] After Sudan became independent in 1956, disputes and wars over autonomy for the south continued until a peace agreement in 2005. After a referendum, the south declared itself a republic in 2011, and joined the UN and the AU. In July 2009, the permanent court of arbitration redefined the boundaries between north and south, placing the Heglig oilfield in Sudan, but did not specify oil sharing. Based on this, Sudan announced it would not share any of the oil revenue with South Sudan, since Heglig was a part of the north. South Sudan, however, refused to accept the decision saying arbitration court was appointed specifically for the disputed region of Abyei not Heglig.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-19): UN says South Sudan seized Heglig oil field illegally - Published [...] It says Heglig is rightfully part of South Sudan and it does not want the north to use it as a base for attacks. But Mr Ban said the seizure of Heglig "is an infringement on the sovereignty of Sudan and a clearly illegal act".
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-06-08): Reports emerged late today that South Sudan’s military forces, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or SPLA, may have again taken control of South Kordofan state’s Heglig, home to Sudan’s largest remaining source of oil following the South’s secession. If true, this would mark the second time in weeks that the SPLA has occupied territory well within Sudan, and comes amid escalating violence along the ill-defined international border separating Sudan and South Sudan. Details, however, remain sketchy, with one source on the ground telling Enough that the Sudan Revolutionary Front, or SRF, was responsible for taking Heglig on Tuesday.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-14): Sudan's leaders are furious after its southern neighbour took over the Heglig oilfield, which is internationally accepted as Sudanese territory. [...] And Sudanese army spokesman Col Sawarmi Khalid said on Saturday Heglig region was "100%" under their control. [...] Heglig is vital because it accounts for about half of Sudan's 115,000 barrel-a-day oil output and the fighting has stopped production there.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-19): It was unclear whether the comments, coming days after South Sudan seized the disputed Heglig oil field near the border, represented a formal declaration of war or were merely intended to persuade the United States, the United Nations and regional powers to force South Sudan to leave the area. [...] Ban called on South Sudan to immediately withdraw its forces from the town of Heglig, saying its seizure constituted "an infringement of the sovereignty of Sudan and a clearly illegal act." He also called on Khartoum to stop shelling and bombing South Sudanese territory and to withdraw its forces from disputed territories. [...] Since then, oil installations and areas around them are increasingly being targeted militarily. Heglig is the scene of the latest fighting. South Sudan says the Heglig oil field is within its territory, based on borders outlined in 1956 by Britain, Sudan’s former colonizer. Officials say their forces will not leave the oil field until the United Nations or the African Union sends a neutral force to oversee the area.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-15): "They tried to attack our positions north of Heglig last night but it was contained," said Barnaba Marial Benjamin. "Heglig is [still] under our control." South Sudanese forces seized control of Heglig town earlier in the week during the worst fighting in the region since the South seceded from Khartoum’s rule last year. [...] Earlier on Friday, our correspondent Nazanine Moshiri, said a spokesperson there had told her Sudanese forces were about 30km from Heglig and that South Sudanese would defend themselves if they attempted to take back the town.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-16): Mbeki and Menkerios are likely to address their interactions with Sudanese and South Sudanese officials in light of the recent escalation of violence between the two countries. (This has been marked by repeated skirmishes along their border and the seizure of the disputed oil producing area of Heglig by South Sudan on 11 April.) South Sudan has said that it occupied Heglig after rebuffing an attack by Sudan from the area, while Sudan has called the occupation an act of aggression. (In July 2009, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, in defining the borders of the Abyei region, which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, ruled that Heglig is east of Abyei. However, it did not make a determination regarding where Heglig is located vis-à-vis the border separating Sudan and South Sudan, which has yet to be demarcated.) The occupation of Heglig by South Sudan and the bombings by Sudanese Armed Forces of territory in South Sudan have received international condemnation during the past week from several quarters, including the Council, the AU and the EU. In a presidential statement that the Council issued on 12 April, it demanded: the withdrawal of South Sudanese forces from Heglig; an end to Sudan’s bombings of South Sudan; an end to cross-border violence by the two countries; and an end to both countries’ support for proxy forces on the other side of the border.
Claim: Heglig is a territory of Sudan (Heglig, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-24): South Sudanese forces had moved into the oil-producing region of Heglig in Sudan’s South Kordofan state before departing recently, and Sudanese forces had engaged in the bombardment of South Sudanese territory, with the latest having occurred in Bentiu town in Unity state. "Council members welcomed the withdrawal of the SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army] from Heglig, demanded an immediate halt to aerial bombardment by the Sudanese Armed Forces and urged an immediate ceasefire and a return to negotiating table," Amb. Rice told the press. [...] Addressing the media in Geneva, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Adrian Edwards, said that people in border areas such as Heglig, Talodi and other parts of the state of South Kordofan, had been displaced by the fighting, and noted that escalating hostilities are raising concerns about refugees’ safety.
Claim: plazas de soberanía is a territory of Spain (plazas de soberanía, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-13): The plazas de soberanía (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈplaθas ðe soβeɾaˈni.a], lit. "strongholds of sovereignty")[3] are a series of Spanish overseas minor territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco in Africa, or that are closer to Africa than Europe. This term is used for those territories that have been a part of Spain since the formation of the modern country (1492–1556), as opposed to African territories acquired by Spain during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Scramble for Africa. [...] Apart from these, there are two other islands usually considered within the plazas de soberanía.[citation needed] The disputed Perejil Island (Isla Perejil), a small uninhabited islet close to Ceuta, is considered by Spain to be a part of Ceuta and not a territory in its own right.[12] Alboran Island (Isla de Alborán), another small island in the western Mediterranean, about 50 kilometres (31.05 miles) from the African coast and 90 kilometres (55.92 miles) from Europe, is administered as part of the municipality of Almería on the Iberian Peninsula. Political geography [edit]The plazas de soberanía are small islands and a peninsula off the coast of Morocco (the only peninsula, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, was an island until a 1934 storm formed a sand bridge with the mainland). They are guarded by military garrisons and administered directly by the Spanish central government.