Sudanese keep talking, no deal imminent-mediator

NAIROBI, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Sudan’s warring factions, due to end a round of peace negotiations on Friday, are still talking but have not indicated they are ready to sign a deal, a mediator said.

The Khartoum government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) are holding negotiations in Kenya to end a war that has killed an estimated two million people since it began in 1983.

Peace talks began in early 2002, and the sides have already signed deals on splitting state and religion, forming a postwar army and letting the south, where the SPLA is based, hold a referendum on independence after an interim period.

Delegates on Monday said the factions were likely to sign a deal on sharing wealth by the end of this week, though mediators wanted to see a more comprehensive deal to end the civil war.

On Friday Kenya’s special envoy to the talks, Lazarus Sumbeiywo, said: “It is up to the two parties. They have not indicated to me that they are ready to sign anything.”

“Today I am planning for business (talks) as usual.”

The main issues still outstanding are sharing wealth, dividing power, and the status of three areas contested between the northern government and southern SPLA.

Mediators, especially the United States, have been putting pressure on both sides to get a final deal on all these things by the end of the year, even if it is only a framework agreement.

The talks are being led by Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Taha and SPLA leader John Garang.

The war broadly pits the southern SPLA against the northern Islamic government, but there are other conflicts within Africa’s largest country still bubbling.