Sudan’s Two Areas talks to resume on February 1st: official

January 16, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N al-Hilu) led by Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu said they received an invitation from the African mediation to resume Two Areas talks from I to 2 February in Addis Ababa.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, also known as the Two Areas since 2011.

The SPLM-N is now divided into two factions: one led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu and the other led by Malik Agar. The rift emerged last year over the right of self-determination and other organisational issues.

The semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) quoted the head of the African Union (AU) office in Khartoum Mahmoud Kan as saying the talks would be resumed on the bases of the existing documents on the cessation of hostilities.

The African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by the former South African president Thabo Mbeki is brokering peace talks between the Sudanese government and SPLM-N.

Talks between the government and the SPLM-N for a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access are stalled since August 2016.

Both, Sudan and the SPLM-N al-Hilu have declared a unilateral cessation of hostilities in the war zones.

(ST)