U.S. resume Sudan peace effort

WASHINGTON, Nov 21, 2003 (UPI) — Secretary of State Colin Powell Friday turned his attention toward restoring peace in Sudan, meeting with Sudanese opposition leader John Garang.

Garang assured Powell he backs a U.S. negotiated settlement in the African country, a State Department spokesman said.

Twenty years of war between Sudan’s Muslim government and Christians in the south has killed more than 2 million people.

In October, Powell met Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha and Garang in Kenya, and later announced in a joint news conference that both sides have agreed to end the fight and resolve their differences through talks.

At Friday’s meeting, Powell reviewed the status of the peace process with Garang and “expressed the importance” of finalizing the agreement reached in Kenya last month, the spokesman said.