Khartoum (AFP) - Sudan and South Sudan agreed on Wednesday to reactivate a joint monitoring force along their contested border, a source said, as the southern government fights a rebellion.
The decision came during a meeting between South Sudan's defence minister, Kuol Manyang Juuk, and his Sudanese counterpart Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein.
Juuk arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday for an official visit. Later on Wednesday he presented President Omar al-Bashir with a letter from the South's leader, Salva Kiir. Its message was not revealed.
"In two weeks' time they will reactivate" the UN-supported Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism as well as other forums for coordinating security between the countries, which fought border clashes in 2012, said the source who declined to be identified but is familiar with the ministers' decision.
The mechanism was set up last year to monitor a buffer zone 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) on each side of a 1956 border line.
All activities of the monitoring unit were suspended after South Sudan's government decided in November to temporarily withdraw its monitors in a dispute over the buffer zone centreline, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a February report.
[1]A woman carries produce from her farm across a river in Yirol on March 19, 2014 (AFP Photo/Charles L …
Sudan and South Sudan disagree over certain parts of their border, which has not been demarcated.
Three weeks after the South pulled out of the mechanism, a clash between troops loyal to Kiir and those backing sacked vice president Riek Machar led to full-scale fighting in South Sudan.
Almost one million civilians have been displaced, including more than 40,000 who have arrived in Sudan, according to the United Nations.
Kiir's forces now control much of the South's Unity state, but Upper Nile remains a "patchwork of zones of control", according to the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based independent research project.
Both states produce the oil which is vital to Khartoum and Juba.
The South separated in July 2011 under a peace agreement that ended a 1983-2005 civil war.
But tensions remained until Kiir and Bashir held a summit in September last year, confirming their commitment to nine security and economic cooperation pacts. These included the demilitarised buffer zone.
Relations were improving, but then war broke out in the South, diverting the two governments from putting all nine deals into effect.
The defence ministers "agreed to activate implementation of the cooperation agreements", Sudan's official SUNA news agency said after Wednesday's talks.
Western governments have commended Sudan's role in supporting regional efforts to bring peace to South Sudan.
- Politics & Government
- Unrest, Conflicts & War
- South Sudan
- Sudan
References
- ^ A woman carries produce from her farm across a river … (news.yahoo.com)
Source http://news.yahoo.com/sudan-south-resume-border-monitoring-172223185.html
Newer articles:
- South Sudan rebels, government claim oil town as talks delayed - 20/03/2014 17:12
- South Sudan recaptures oil town as talks delayed - 20/03/2014 16:30
- S.Sudan peace talks stalled despite sanction threats - 20/03/2014 14:21
- Young men and guns: Why South Sudan's war flamed so fast and brightly - 20/03/2014 00:00
- West threatens sanctions against South Sudan's warring sides - 19/03/2014 18:15
Older news items
- US, EU threaten sanctions for South Sudan warring parties - 19/03/2014 15:41
- South Sudan favors war over diplomacy, U.N. says - 19/03/2014 15:26
- Recovery of South Sudan oil output to take time -official - 19/03/2014 13:37
- South Sudan oil output steady, Unity fields still halted - 19/03/2014 08:50
- U.N.: Thousands Killed and Abused in South Sudan - 19/03/2014 05:14
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan vows probe after two Ethiopian peacekeepers killed in Jonglei ambush; Ethiopia, UN and Egypt condemn attack - 26/08/2026 13:06
- Dozens killed in rebel attacks on Sudan’s Kordofan, medical group says - 26/08/2026 13:03
- The truth about the South Sudanese vice president being prevented from travelling to Kenya - 26/08/2026 13:01
- WHO Regional Office Country Focus Coordinator visits South Sudan to strengthen health sector support - 26/08/2026 12:58
- South Sudanese Catholic Bishop Presents Women’s Leadership as Alternative Ahead of First-Ever General Election - 26/08/2026 12:56
Random articles (all categories):
- South Sudan's FM to visit Khartoum on Monday - 05/01/2014 02:21
- Journeying together for reconciliation - 11/12/2013 09:41
- Sudan: More Doctors Arrested By Security Service - 16/01/2019 00:54
- The Confinement of Dr. Riek Machar and its’ implication on resolving the South Sudan’s crisis - 27/10/2017 00:26
- Kerry warns South Sudan leader on ceasefire - 03/09/2015 17:15
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 148871 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 27997 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 25081 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 24390 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 22336 times
