Sudanese opposition NDA expects deal with Khartoum

CAIRO, June 15 (AFP) — Reconciliation talks between the Sudanese government and the opposition National Democratic Alliance in Cairo are progressing well and a deal could be signed on Saturday, an NDA leader said Wednesday.

“We expect the agreement to be signed on Saturday,” said Abdul Rahman Saeed, deputy leader of the NDA, a grouping of over a dozen Sudanese opposition groups.

A final agreement would put an end to the Egyptian exile of the NDA and pave the way for the inclusion of NDA parties in the Sudanese unity government to be formed by July 9, in line with the peace deal signed in January between Khartoum and southern rebels.

The opposition group is demanding a larger share of power than stipulated in the north-south agreement and also wants the fate of its armed forces to be clarified.

The NDA official told AFP the political and military committees dealing with the main outstanding issues should wrap up their discussions Wednesday.

Saeed said no obstacles had cropped up but added that issues that might remain unresolved by Wednesday night would be dealt with at a higher level when more senior officials sit at the same table on Thursday.

The meeting will bring together NDA leader Mohammed Osman al-Mirghani, Sudanese first Vice President Ali Osman Taha and leader of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) John Garang.

The SPLM, a former southern rebel movement and NDA founding member, signed a peace agreement with Khartoum in January that ended more than two decades of a north-south conflict which claimed more than 1.5 million lives.

Taha was due to arrive in the Egyptian capital later Wednesday.