Sudan’s Taha holds closed-door meeting with SLM’s Menawi
April 17, 2006 (ABUJA) — Second Vice-President Ali Osman Taha continued his closed-door meetings with leaders of the rebel movements where he met Sunday Meni Arko Menawi, the chairman of one of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) factions.
The State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Al-Samani Al-Wasila, said in a press statement that this is the fifth meeting between Taha and Menawi, pointing out that the focus now is on the security arrangements axis on which agreement would have positive reflections on the security situation and displaced persons and it is considered key element for achieving agreement on the rest of the axes.
Al-Wasila added that there are now no outstanding issues in the file of the security arrangements, expecting the file will be completed within this week.
Meanwhile, the mini-team on the security and military arrangements continued its meetings in the presence of the mediators and international partners in a view to reaching cease-fire agreement in Darfur.
The Spokesperson of the African Union in Abuja talks, Noureddine Mezni, said to SUNA that the coming few days will witness preparation of a final document of the security arrangements.
He said that presenting by the African mediation of proposals on the final peace agreement is connected with finalizing the security arrangements file, after the mediation has completed the final proposals on the power and wealth axes. He expressed hope that a peace agreement would be reached by the date set by the African Union Peace and Security Council, the end of current April.
Mezni pointed to the consultations being made by the Vice-President, Ali Osman Taha, with the leaders of the rebel groups, hoping that the consultations will achieve positive outcome backing the peace process.
He said that the African Union Top Mediator, Salim Ahmed Salim, left to New York where he is expect to submit on Tuesday a report to the UN Security Council on the latest developments of Abuja peace talks. He affirmed that Salim will return immediately to follow the work of this decisive and final stage of the negotiations.
(ST)