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The United States announced joint military flight drills in Guyana on Thursday as soaring tensions over a contested oil-rich region with neighbor Venezuela prompted the UN Security Council to call an urgent meeting.

The long-running dispute over Essequibo, which comprises some two-thirds of Guyanese territory, has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil there in 2015.

Guyana and Venezuela agreed Wednesday to "keep the communication channels open" in a fast-worsening feud over a disputed, oil-rich region as Brazil reinforced troops on its northern border with the neighbors.

Tensions rose between Venezuela and Guyana Tuesday as Caracas proposed a bill to declare a Venezuelan province in a disputed oil-rich region and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude there.

Guyana said Tuesday it will approach the UN Security Council for help if Venezuela makes any moves on a disputed oil-rich region following a referendum Caracas says bolstered its claim to it.

Guyana said Monday it would remain "vigilant" after Venezuelans voted overwhelmingly in favor of claiming an oil-rich border region that makes up more than two-thirds of its territory.

The Maduro regime is threatening to destabilize the Caribbean in a bid for offshore oil reserves, in a move likely to invite back crippling US sanctions.

About 10.5 million of Venezuela's 20.7 million eligible voters took part in the consultation

Disputed territory of Essequibo is larger than Greece, rich in minerals and gives access to part of the Atlantic boasting oil in commercial quantities

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is organising a referendum on Sunday to decide whether to create a new state in the Essequibo territory, an area currently under the control of neighbouring Guyana. Does Caracas have the means for its territorial ambitions, or is it just political grandstanding?

Even though the voting is not binding, tensions are running high between the countries given the rhetoric by Maduro's government