UN discuss Sudan and South Sudan talks

The UN Security Council said Thursday Sudan and South Sudan had failed to reach agreements on divisive issues that provoked an armed conflict between the two sides earlier this year. “Council members regretted that Sudan and South Sudan failed to reach agreements by the deadline of August 2,” said council president, German Ambassador Peter Wittig, following a lengthy closed-door discussion by council members. Wittig said the two sides failed to negotiate by the deadline crucial issues like border demarcation, a demilitarized zone and the creation of a joint border verification team. The issue of the final status of the oil-rich Abyei region, which lies between South Sudan and Sudan along the border, had yet to be solved. Fighting between the two sides broke out earlier this year, mostly over the sharing of oil resources. But an agreement was reached in August. The council was briefed through a video link by Haile Menkerios, the UN special envoy in the Sudans and former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who acts as a mediator for the African Union, in the conflict between the two countries.