Sudan declares state of emergency

Official SUNA news agency has reported that Sudan's president Omar al Bashir has issued a resolution declaring emergency in the border states of South Kordofan, White Nile and Sennar.

The resolution was imposed after a month of clashes between Sudan and South Sudan amid rising fears of war.

The measure suspends the constitution and imposes a trade embargo against the South, which became independent last year. It also gives the authorities wide powers of arrest.

Tensions have risen over a series of unresolved issues including the border, the future of disputed territories and oil.

South Sudan's embassy estimates 350,000 ethnic Southerners remain in the north after an April 8 deadline for them to either formalise their status or leave Sudan.

Twelve thousand are camped south of Khartoum at the way station of Kosti, awaiting a trip home by river barge.

But the governor of White Nile state, which includes Kosti, has branded them a security threat and given them a May 5 deadline to get out, official media reported on Sunday.