Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Sudanese counterpart ‘Umar al-Bashir came out from last week’s African Union (AU) brokered talks in Ethiopia no closer to an agreement than they were one month ago, on how to withdraw their respective armies from the disputed North-South border.
The two sides signed a series of accords last September, which among other things, called for the establishment of a demilitarized zone along the disputed North-South border, before crude oil exports could resume from the land-locked South to international markets, through Port Sudan in the North. Despite this, neither side withdrew its army from the 1,800km border; on account of the deep-rooted mistrust that still characterizes Sudan-South Sudan relations to this day. (CONTINUED - 1356 WORDS)
