Sudan pledges to honour pact with rebels

Text of report by Sudanese newspaper Al-Anba, BBC Monitoring Middle East.

Sept 7, 2005 (Khartoum) — The deputy chairman of the [ruling] National Congress [NC], Dr Nafi Ali Nafi, has said the state will always be committed to the agreement signed between the government and the Al-Shahamah [Nobility] [rebel] Movement [made up of Masiriyah tribesmen in Western Kordofan. It emerged in October 2004 and seeks fair development opportunities for the region, as well as a revision of the agreement on administrative arrangements for the Nuba Mountains and the Southern Blue Nile regions.].

This came about during Al-Nafi’s meeting with the Al-Shahamah delegation, led by Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Al-Raziqi, who is also the movement’s spokesman. Present at the meeting was also the deputy governor of Southern Kordofan State [central Sudan], Isa Bashari, the Abyei commissioner Muhammad Jabir Buram and a number of officials from Abyei.

Al-Nafi said the NC would support development efforts in the region and help achieve stability, pointing out that it was crucial to combine efforts and all national ranks should unite to face up to challenges.

Al-Shahama’s spokesman Muhammad Abd al-Rahman al-Raziqi said his visit to Khartoum came as a follow up and implementation of the pact signed between the two sides in August last year.