Sudan’s foes to launch final phase of peace talks
NAIROBI, June 2 (Reuters) – Sudan’s government and southern rebels are expected on Saturday to launch the final phase of talks to end Africa’s longest civil war, Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki will preside over a ceremony with Sudan’s First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and rebel leader John Garang at State House in Nairobi, the ministry said in a statement.
Media reports said Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher would also attend.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka told Reuters the two parties were due to sign a document encorporating six accords, the building blocks for a comprehensive peace deal to end 21 years of civil war in the oil-producing country.
“They will sign an advanced copy of the final agreement — you can call it a summary of all the protocols,” Musyoka said.
“They will then come back for the final bit on June 22. At that time they will remain in Kenya until they finish.”
The peace talks do not cover a separate conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, which the United Nations says has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The two sides at Saturday’s talks are expected to discuss ceasefire arrangements and how to implement a final deal when they resume negotiations on June 22. Mediators in Kenya where talks are being hosted have said a final deal could be concluded within two months.
The government and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels signed landmark protocols last Wednesday on how to share power and manage three disputed areas.
Previous accords set the terms for a vote in the south on secession after a six-year interim period, forming a post-war national army and the equal division of oil revenues during the transition.
Sudan’s civil war has killed an estimated two million people mainly through famine and disease since 1983 when Khartoum tried to impose Islamic sharia law on the mainly animist south. Oil, religion and ideology have been complicating factors in the war.