Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has threatened to close "forever" an oil pipeline that carries oil from South Sudan to Sudan's Red Sea coast. He said on Monday, May 27 that Sudan will stop the flow of oil if South Sudan supports rebels operating on Sudanese soil, speaking on state TV, BB News reported.

The Sudanese army is fighting a rebel insurgency in at least three regions. Despite the South's independence in 2011, tensions over oil and land disputes have continued.

An umbrella rebel group called the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) has launched attacks on several towns, briefly occupying the major city of Um Rawaba in central Sudan in April.

The group, which hopes to topple President Bashir's government, withdrew from Um Rawaba, but held onto the town of Abu Kershola, in the neighbouring oil-rich region of South Kordofan.

SPLM-North rebels joined the Darfuri rebel groups, Jem and two main factions of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), to form the Sudan Revolutionary Front last year.

President Bashir delivered his speech live on Sudanese state TV following the army's announcement that it had recaptured Abu Kershola from the rebels.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the rebels told AFP news agency that the fighters withdrew from Abu Kershola to ease a government blockade on its residents.