Sudan’s delegation on security issues departs for Addis Ababa
July 4, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese delegation for talks on security arrangements will travel on Wednesday to Addis Ababa before resuming talks on the buffer zone on Thursday.
Sudanese sources said the delegations have two days to end the discussions on the demilitarized zone which were hampered by the divergences over a number of disputed areas on the common border.
The mediation proposed a map to define this buffer zone but Sudan vetoed it stressing that it includes an area called ‘Mile 14’ and called on the African Union panel to work with the map according to which South Sudan agreed independence.
The leadership council of the National Congress Party (NCP) headed by President Omar Al-Bashir will discuss, on Wednesday afternoon, a number of propositions and understandings which the delegation can put on the negotiating table.
Committees on the other pending issues are also to start talks this week.
The parties have around three weeks to conclude an agreement over the all pending issues including the oil pipeline, border demarcation and Abyei. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has set the 2 August as the deadline to conclude the process.
The mediation has to submit its proposals to end the conflict to the UNSC, which is supposed to call on the two countries to adopt the package and to threaten them with sanctions if they do not.
The African Union mediation also rejected a proposal by South Sudan to hand the border demarcation issue to the international arbitration, reminding the two parties to observe the resolution 2046.
(ST)