Yemeni president welcomes accord between Khartoum and southern rebels

SANAA, Oct 8 (AFP) — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Wednesday welcomed an accord signed in Kenya by the Khartoum government and southern rebels aimed at ending Sudan’s 20-year civil war, SABA news agency reported.

“We are very happy (with the accord) which was initiated by the Sudanese and we hope to see the Sudanese people united,” said the president on receiving Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha.

For his part, Yemen’s Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qurbi said that Saleh and Taha were to discuss Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as cooperation between Sanaa and Khartoum.

Under the Kenya-based negotiations, the peoples of southern Sudan will enjoy six years of self-rule before voting in a referendum on whether to stay part of Sudan or secede.

On September 25, the government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) signed a deal on security arrangements during a six-year interim period due to come into effect once a comprehensive peace accord is signed.

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on Wednesday invited the southern rebel group to form a partnership with the governing party to cement what he predicts will be the end of Sudan’s civil war, which broke out in 1983.