Sudan’s VP, rebel chief resume peace talks in Kenya

NAIVASHA, Kenya, Oct 18 (AFP) — Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha and southern rebel leader John Garang on Saturday resumed a fresh round of talks to end two decades of civil war in the country.

The latest round of the talks, which are expected to lead to a comprehensive accord between Khartoum and Garang’s rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), was launched on Friday.

Garang briefly left the talks on Friday following the formal opening ceremony, held near Naivasha, a town 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of the Kenyan capital, to travel to Nairobi for an appointment with his doctor.

War erupted in Sudan in 1983 and has since killed more than 1.5 million people and displaced four million others.

Following the end of Angola’s civil war last year, the Sudan conflict gained the ignominious distinction of being Africa’s longest running war.

The war has pitted rebels from the mainly Christian and animist south against the predominantly Muslim government in Khartoum.

The last round of talks ended in late September, when vice president Taha and rebel leader Garang signed a deal on security arrangements for a six-year transition period during which the rebel-controlled south will enjoy self-rule.

After the test period of autonomy, an internationally supervised referendum will be held to allow the southern Sudanese to choose whether to remain part of Sudan or become independent.