Despite the mediation of former South African President Thabo Mbeki, negotiations before independence (and since) left several unresolved issues to fester: How much the South would pay to transport oil through the North, where the actual border would lie (especially the status of the disputed region of Abyei), debt sharing, and what the citizenship status of South Sudanese remaining in the North, and vice versa, would be. In addition to tension surrounding these questions, a wider opposition that includes the three major Darfur rebel movements, the Northern arm of the Southern political movement, is growing. It is making this moment all the more precarious for Khartoum. In fact, the tangle of contestations and conflicts across the country marks the most serious challenge to the survival of Omar al-Bashir's Islamist government since it usurped power more than two decades ago.

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General on Sunday urged leaders in both Sudan and South Sudan to reach an agreement on how to share their oil wealth after series of counter accusations forced the latter to shut down its oil production.

The United States (US) permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), Susan Rice, on Monday urged the neighbouring states of Sudan and South Sudan to quickly resolve their long standing dispute over oil.

South Sudan and Sudan could face a "major humanitarian crisis" if they fail to solve a running oil dispute, a top U.S. envoy said Sunday as African heads of state converged on Ethiopia's capital for an African Union summit.

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) on Saturday announced that fighters from the Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) launched an assault on the site of a Chinese construction company in South Kordofan.

The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir on Wednesday slammed the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) saying they have not been negotiating in good faith on oil issues.

The Sudanese foreign ministry today confirmed that a portion of oil pumped by South Sudan passing through the north’s pipelines is seized by Khartoum, but stressed that this is done with Juba’s knowledge.

The president of South Sudan Salva Kiir accused the Sudanese government of stealing his country’s oil in a new sign of escalation between the two ex-foes.

The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) has made proposals to have representatives from oil companies included in the next round of post-session negotiations mediated by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), Pagan Amum, its chief negotiator said on Monday.

China has encouraged Sudan and South Sudan to peacefully resolve their disputes over oil and border, warning of far-reaching consequences should the recently separated countries fail to do so.