Sudan, S. Sudan reach agreement on Abyei, co-op

KHARTOUM - Sudan and South Sudan on Saturday agreed in Addis Ababa of Ethiopia to implement the items of security agreements and to set up civil institutions for Abyei area, official SUNA news agency reported.

"Sudan and South Sudan have agreed during the summit between the two countries' presidents Omar al-Bashir and Salva Kiir Mayardit to implement the item of security arrangements by breaking the link between the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) of South Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/ northern sector," the agency said in its mobile news service.

"The two sides have also agreed to speed up formation of the civil institutions for the disputed area of Abyei and set timetables for the implementation of the cooperation deal signed by the two countries in September last year," the report added.

Sudan's al-Bashir and his South Sudanese counterpart Kiir have met late Friday in the Ethiopian capital to push for progress in the stalled cooperation deal between the two countries in the presence of Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

On Sept 27, Sudan and South Sudan signed a package of agreements on various issues during a presidential summit in the capital of Ethiopia.

Witnessed by members of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP), the two sides inked three deals on cooperation, security and post-secession matters. However, the signed agreements did not tackle the issues of Abyei and border demarcation.

A referendum was scheduled to be held in Abyei to decide the fate of the area coincident with the referendum on self- determination for South Sudan in January 2011, which resulted in the separation between the north and the south. But the voting did not take place due to differences over who has the right to vote.