Truce in Sudan extended two months; rebels, govt hopeful over peace deal
NAIVASHA, Kenya, Sept 21 (AFP) — Hopes for progress in crucial peace talks between Sudan’s main rebel group and the Khartoum government were boosted Sunday when both sides extended a ceasefire by two months.
The government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), who have been at war for 20 years, agreed that a ceasefire due to expire at the end of this month would be extended until the end of November, Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka said.
“Both sides have extended the cessation of hostilities agreement for the next two months,” Musyoka told reporters.
Signed in October 2002, the truce had originally been due to last six months. It was extended twice in March and again in June as negotiations over a formal end to the ruinous war that has killed 1.5 million people and displaced four million dragged on.
“We expect to reach a peace settlement in two months,” SPLA leder John Garang told AFP soon after Musyoka announced the truce extention.
“That’s why we extended the cessation of hostilities for two months. We expect by that time to have reached a political settlement and a democratic transition in Sudan,” he added.
Sudanese First Vice President Ali Osman Taha and and Garang have been locked in peace talks in Naivasha, 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Nairobi, since September 4.
They are currently trying to hammer out the details of how government troops and rebel forces will be deployed once a final accord is signed.
The Islamic government in Khartoum and the rebels, based in the mainly Christian and animist south, have been fighting since 1983.
Under an agreement signed in Kenya in July last year, the south will enjoy autonomy from Khartoum during a six-year interim period following which a referendum will be held to determine whether the south will secede or remain part of Sudan.
The six-year interim period will come into effect once a comprehensive peace agreement is signed.
“The amount of international goodwill is simply overwhelming and everybody in Sudan expects success in these consultations,” said Musyoka.
“This is a conflict Africa can do without,” he added.