Sudanese president says north Sudan not to allow double nationality

 Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said Tuesday that north Sudan would not allow double nationality, and southerners who want to reside in north Sudan must get residence permission after July 9, 2011, when south Sudan will be officially independent.

"After July 9, there will be a temporary period for the southerners to adjust their status and after that they will be deported to the south," al-Bashir said when addressing a celebration of Sudanese teachers in Khartoum Tuesday.

"There will be no double nationality. He who wants to reside in north Sudan must obtain legal residence permission, otherwise, he will be deported to the south," he added.

In the meantime, the Sudanese president acknowledged that north Sudan has closed its borders with south Sudan in the past period, which halted the movement of commodities between north and south Sudan.

The Sudanese president's statements came at a time when tension is escalating between north and south Sudan due to the recent developments in the country's disputed oil-rich area of Abyei.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has recently taken control of Abyei in response to an attack by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) against a SAF convoy which resulted in the deaths of 22 of its soldiers.

A referendum on Abyei was supposed to be held on Jan. 9, 2011, coincident with the south Sudan referendum, but it was postponed in the wake of a difference between the NCP and the SPLM over who have the right to vote in the referendum.

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