The Khartoum-based newspaper El Mijhar, reported that the African Union has proposed to Sudan and South Sudan to hold a joint workshop in Addis Ababa in order to implement the demilitarised security zone (zero line) between the two countries.

The proposed workshop will kick off on 11 November and will be attended by the technical committees of the two countries.

The director of the Southern Sudan Affairs department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Badreldin Abdallah Mohamed, told El Mijhar that the expected workshop will thoroughly discuss the challenges faced during the identification of the ‘Zero Line’ on the ground in the past, and then come up with a framework on how to implement it as soon as possible.

The director explained that the border on the map is not controversial between the two countries. However, he noted, that what is remaining is the marking on the ground.

“South Sudan had hindered the work of the African committee on the ground, but later on it has accepted it in the joint statement of the two presidents issued in Juba recently”, Mohamed said.

The joint workshop on the ‘Zero Line’ comes following the recent presidential summit between presidents Omar El Bashir and Salva Kiir Mayardit.

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