Sudan, South Sudan presidents to meet
2013-01-04 14:02
Addis Ababa - Rival leaders of Sudan and South Sudan are due to meet on Friday
in the Ethiopian capital to push for progress on stalled economic, oil and
security deals that were drafted to ease tension between the former civil war
foes.
The meeting between Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Southern
counterpart Salva Kiir comes despite accusations from Juba on Thursday that
Khartoum had launched aerial and ground attacks inside South Sudan.
Southern army spokesperson Philip Aguer said that Sudanese troops had struck
inside South Sudan on Wednesday, just as aircraft were bombing the South's
remote north Raja region of Western Bahr el-Ghazal state.
"They attacked on Wednesday, and the fighting continued until late in
the afternoon," he said, adding that the number of casualties had not been
confirmed.
United Nations peacekeepers could not confirm the reports, and the claims
could not be independently verified. Sudanese army officials could not be
immediately reached.
Committed to talks
But South Sudan's Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said Kiir was
still committed to the talks.
"The talks will still take place as planned, we have given our word and
we are committed to them," Benjamin said.
"Our chief negotiator Pagan Amum is already in Addis Ababa... This
summit is important because we want to ensure the full implementation of the
agreements we have already signed."
State owned Sudan News Agency (SUNA), also reported late on Thursday that
Sudan's Bashir would attend the talks.
"President Bashir will leave tomorrow morning to the Ethiopian capital
Addis Ababa for a two-day visit. He will meet with the president of South
Sudan, Salva Kiir, to discuss the pending issues and to speed up implementation
of the cooperation agreements signed by the two presidents last
September," SUNA said.
Previous meetings of the two leaders have been repeatedly delayed or
postponed.
However, delegations from both nations have already arrived in Addis Ababa,
the seat of the African Union which has mediated repeated rounds of talks.
Tension
The accusations of attacks will add to tensions between the presidents, who
are meeting for the first summit since they signed security and oil agreements
in September that have not been implemented.
Along with a demilitarised border buffer zone, the September pacts allowed
for a resumption of South Sudanese oil exports through northern pipelines. They
also said border points would be reopened for general trade.
South Sudan separated from Sudan in July 2011 under a peace agreement that
ended a 1983-2005 civil war, but key issues including the demarcation of hotly
contested border zones remain unresolved.
The future of the disputed Abyei region, a Lebanon-sized area straddling the
volatile border, must also be decided.
The two nations came close to all-out war in March and April last year, when
their armies fought bitter battles over their disputed frontier.
Khartoum also accuses South Sudan of supporting rebels operating in Sudan,
which has been a major obstacle to implementing the agreements.
The South, in turn, says Sudan backs insurgents on its territory, a tactic
it used to deadly effect during the two decades of civil war.
- SAPA
