South Sudan and its neighbour Sudan have failed to reach an agreement on security arrangements and oil exports after several days of talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, officials said yesterday.

The two sides were trying to negotiate the implementation of a safe demilitarised border zone, which called on both Juba and Khartoum to withdraw their armies at least six miles from the contested border region. South Sudan said a key sticking point has been the demilitarisation of a contested 14-mile strip of land.