Sudan, S.Sudan Leaders to Meet for Security, Oil Talks

Rival leaders of Sudan and South Sudan are expected to meet Friday in the Ethiopian capital in the latest attempt to implement stalled oil, security and border deals, officials said Wednesday.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Southern counterpart Salva Kiir will meet face-to-face at African Union mediated talks for the second time this month to push deals settled after bloody border conflict broke out last year.

"We hope to see them develop the momentum towards implementing the existing agreements," AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said, noting the leaders are also due to attend top level AU security meetings afterwards.

Key issues left unresolved after the former civil war foes separated in July 2011 remain, including the contested flashpoint Abyei region.

No time has been set for the either the presidential talks or the AU Peace and Security Council meeting, which comes ahead of an AU summit due to start Sunday.

The two sides have been at loggerheads over the demarcation of the oil-rich border and how to divide revenue from crude that the South exports via the north -- leading to South Sudan halting oil production last January and weeks of border conflict.

Khartoum also accuses South Sudan of supporting rebels operating in Sudan, which has been a major obstacle to implementing the agreements.

The South, in turn, says Sudan backs insurgents on its territory, a tactic it used to deadly effect during the two decades of civil war.