JUBA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Thursday said it is not supporting any rebel group in Sudan's Darfur region following the latest round of accusation by President Omar Bashir.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Mawien Makol said the two neighboring countries have a security mechanism set up in 2014 to verify allegations of rebel support on both sides, rather than using the media to blame each other.
"That is not true. It is not the first time Khartoum has accused us. We have said we don't have interest to support rebels. They should not look at us as the problem," Makol told Xinhua in Juba.
The Sudanese leader on Tuesday accused South Sudan and Egypt of supporting the rebels in the Western region of the country. Al Bashir said that the rebels the Sudanese Armed Forces clashed with crossed into Darfur from South Sudan and Libya.
"We have put in place a committee headed by the two defense ministers that checks and verifies these allegations. Going to the media and talk about accusations is not good," Makol revealed.
The latest spat comes after the two former civil war foes moved to thaw relations following disputes over border demarcation, oil transit fees and hitherto disputed oil-rich Abyei region.
Khartoum has also been supporting its war-torn neighbor with humanitarian food after opening up its humanitarian corridors.
South Sudan has in the past also accused Sudan of supporting the SPLA-in opposition rebels allied to former first vice president Riek Machar now exiled in South Africa.
"We have now cordial relations with Sudan to the extent of them giving us humanitarian support," Makol disclosed.
