Sudan rebel leader heads to peace talks for first time in 20 years

CAIRO, Sept 2 (AFP) — The leader of the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), John Garang, left his country Tuesday to direct peace negotiations with the Khartoum government, his spokesman said.

“Its the first time in 20 years that Mr. Garang heads the delegation” at peace talks, Yasser Armane told AFP by telephone from Sudan, indicating a possible breakthrough in the process to end Africa’s longest-running civil war.

Khartoum and the SPLA are scheduled to meet on September 10 for the next round of talks after an agreement stalled last month on how power and resources should be shared during any self-rule for the south.

The sides signed a preliminary agreement in July of last year under the auspices of the African grouping of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

The accord, still under negotiation, would grant the mainly Christian and animist south six years of self-rule before it decided in a referendum whether it wanted to secede or remain united with the Arab and Muslim north.

The war in Sudan is Africa’s oldest armed conflict. It has claimed at least 1.5 million lives, with at least another four million people displaced.