AFRICA: Sudan and S Sudan agree to resume oil flow

Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to resume the flow of southern oil exports through pipelines in Sudan within two weeks, more than a year after Juba shut down its entire output.

An African Union mediator announced the deal on Tuesday, which rekindles trade between the two countries after South Sudan shut down its 350,000 barrel-per-day output in January last year in a dispute with Khartom over fees.

Idris Mohammed Abdel Gadir, Sudan's chief negotiator, signed a deal with his South Sudanese counterpart Pagan Amum setting out a timeline for resumption of oil after four days of African Union-brokered talks in Addis Ababa.

Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa who is mediating between the two sides said that the companies have been ordered to resume oil flows by March 10 but also have an extra period of two weeks.

Both countries depended heavily on oil for revenue and use foreign currency to import food and fuel, but disputes over the border and other issues prevented the two from resuming exports.

The rival countries also agreed at the talks in the Ethiopian capital on Friday to order the withdrawal of their troops from contested borders within a week to ease tensions and open the way to resuming the oil exports.

South Sudan's army spokesman, Philip Aguer, said soldiers would take around two weeks to withdraw southwards from a series of flashpoint border areas.

Troops must "start moving to the designated areas, 10km away from the buffer zone," Aguer told reporters, reading a letter with orders from the army chief of staff.

In Sudan, a statement on Monday from Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein said his forces were committed to the timetable signed under African Union mediation last Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

"From yesterday our troops started withdrawing from the buffer zone," he said.

The two countries agreed in September last year to set up a bufferzone, after going through the worst border clashes in April since their split, but did not implement the agreement.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in July 2011.

ALJAZEERA ENGLISH