South Sudan to Host Security Meeting With Khartoum

President of Sudan Omar Hassan al-Bashir, former South African President Thabo Mbeki and President Silva Kiir of South Sudan at a cooperation agreement celebration in Ethiopia. The two states have pledged to end differences., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

SUNDAY 28 JULY 2013

Juba to host security meeting with Khartoum on Monday

July 27, 2013, (KHARTOUM) - Delegates from the north and south Sudan will meet in Juba on Monday for the security committee meeting that is chaired by intelligence officials from both nations.

A committee source told the Sudanese pro-government Ashorooq TV that the meeting will continue to discuss the mutual allegations regarding rebel support as well as for the demarcation of the zero line and the establishment of joint mechanisms for supervision and verification.

The meeting was originally scheduled for early June in Juba but was postponed in the wake of Khartoum’s decision to begin the process of shutting down pipelines carrying South Sudan’s oil.

Furthermore, a South Sudan military official said this week that Khartoum previously wanted to move the meeting from Juba to Addis Ababa.

At the time Sudan said it is waiting for African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) report on the obstacles facing the implementation of the cooperation agreements particularly with regard to the issue of supporting and harboring rebel movements and determination of the centre line in the demilitarized zone.

On Thursday Sudan agreed to pleas by AUHIP chairman Thabo Mbeki and China to postpone for at least two weeks the deadline by which it will implement the oil shutdown.

Mbeki told reporters after meeting the Sudanese president that he discussed the issue of the demilitarized zone between Sudan and South Sudan and Juba’s alleged support to the rebels which the AU committees are probing.

"We came to say to the President that the committees formed by the African Union to review the matter started its work and it is our opinion that these committees should be given time to do their job," he said.

In September of last year, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, border trade among others.

Last March, the two countries signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements. The latter allowed for the resumption of oil flow after a one year suspension for differences over transit fees.

(ST)