South Sudanese and Sudanese negotiators were unable to agree on a timeframe to implement the cooperation agreements signed last September between the two countries due to differences over the Mile 14 issue.
Mile 14 is a disputed border area between Northern Bahr El Ghazal and Western Kordofan.South Sudan’s negotiating team issued a statement on Saturday in Addis Ababa saying the negotiators were returning to Juba empty-handed.
The statement singled out the Mile 14 issue as the main stumbling block.
The two governments differed on how to apply the “special arrangements” provided for in the security agreements to the 14-mile area along the border, the statement explained.
Sudan did not agree to start demilitarizing the border until the Mile 14 issue was settled, blocking the resumption of oil production.