KHARTOUM, Sudan, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Sudan and South Sudan say they will hold a new round of negotiations on security in Ethiopia with former South African President Thabo Mbeki participating.
Officials said Monday the talks will begin in Addis Ababa on Saturday, the Sudan Tribune reported.
Sudan and South Sudan signed a security agreement Sept. 27 in Addis Ababa. But the two countries have gotten stuck on how to deal with the Sudan People's Liberation Front-North, which has been fighting the Sudan army in two southern provinces. The group was formerly part of the coalition that fought for South Sudan's independence.
Sudan Defense Minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein said Monday he met with John Kong Nyuon, the South Sudan defense minister, in Khartoum. Representatives of the United Nations and the African Union High-level Implementation Panel, which is headed by Mbeki, were also present.
Sudan has asked South Sudan to seize the weapons of the liberation front. South Sudan says the group is not within its borders and it has no power to do anything.
