Sudan, South Sudan talk as tension flares over Abyei

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Talks between Sudan and South Sudan pushed slowly ahead Thursday despite Juba repeating accusations Khartoum has failed to withdraw its troops from the disputed Abyei region as it has claimed.

African Union-led meetings continued for a third day in the Ethiopian capital, the first direct talks since last month's deadly border fighting between the foes.

The UN Security Council has demanded both sides remove their troops from Abyei -- a Lebanon-sized area Khartoum seized last year -- but Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Sudan had still not withdrawn its armed police.

"Sudan has committed another big mistake, deceiving the United Nations, deceiving the (African Union) mediation, deceiving the world, saying that they have withdrawn their forces," said South Sudan's chief negotiator Pagan Amum.

Amum said Sudan still had troops in Abyei and a full battalion posted just across the northern side of the border.

But a member of Khartoum's team said all Sudanese armed forces had left Abyei by midnight Wednesday.

"We have completed our redeployment... there are no military forces in Abyei area as far as I know," said Khartoum's negotiator Mutrif Siddiq.

Despite the tensions, both sides said they were committed to continuing talks, with meetings expected to resume Friday.

"Even if they do not withdraw, we continue to talk because we are here talking with the government of Sudan unconditionally," Amum said.

Siddiq said the tension had "cast some shadows" on the talks, but that the two sides were making progress.

"We think that we are on the right track," Siddiq said. "This is the restart of the spirit of peace and the spirit of negotiations."

After meeting for face-to-face talks Tuesday, both sides exchanged their recommendations on how to implement an AU deal calling for an end to hostilities along the disputed border.

The recommendations were still being reviewed Thursday.

"Hopefully we will agree and once we agree, we are going to determine the next steps that should be taken," he said.

Sudan and South Sudan fought a 1983-2005 war that left more than two million people dead, with Juba declaring independence in July.

But tensions soon flared again over a series of unresolved issues, including the border, the future of disputed territories and oil.

Abyei has remained a hotly contested region, with both sides claiming the area. The UN called on both sides to withdraw forces last month, which South Sudan complied to in early May.