East Sudan peace talks postponed

Jan 17, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The Libyan sponsored east Sudan peace talks between the rebel Eastern Front and the Sudanese government has been adjourned until the last week of January.

According to the Sudanese chief negotiator, Kamal Obeid, talks have been postponed till January 27 on the request of East rebels delegation due to traffic accident happened to its delegation while it was in route to Asmara.

Obeid said the Libyan mediator informed them officially about this postponement.

Earlier in November the rebel group said that peace talks with Khartoum will kick off in in the first week of December 2005.

Regarding the fact that eastern rebels want to control Hamesh Koreb after redeployment of the SPLA forces to southern Sudan, the Sudanese top negotiator said this issue in treated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

The Sudanese army is supposed to occupy SPLM positions once they have withdrawn. But eastern rebels, also in the same areas, say the government will have to fight them first.

Like the insurgents in Darfur, the eastern rebels blame the central government in Khartoum for neglecting their area, which contains Sudan’s only port, the main oil pipeline carrying crude exports and Sudan’s largest gold mine.

(ST)