Sudan FM says deal with southern rebels still few days off

KHARTOUM, April 10 (AFP) — Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said Saturday that a peace deal with southern rebels was still a few days off but added that he did not expect the talks in Kenya to drag on for weeks.

Both Washington and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army had expressed hope that a framework agreement would be signed over the weekend.

But Ismail said the two sides remained at odds over the government’s calls for Khartoum to remain subject to Islamic law under any deal.

“The Naivasha negotiations are making progress and the only main obstacle that remains to be resolved is the status of the national capital,” Ismail told AFP by telephone from Geneina in the western region of Darfur, where he is on a peace mission.

“I think the road will be open to the signing (of an agreement) in a matter of days rather than weeks and as soon as the national capital issue is resolved.”

During a visit to Kenya Wednesday during which he voiced frustration at the slow pace of the negotiations, acting US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Charles Snyder said he had received assurances from both sides that a framework deal would be signed Saturday or Sunday and a comprehensive agreement “in a month or so.”

“There has been a growing concern that these parties are dragging too long,” Snyder told reporters in Nairobi. “Both parties have assured me that they can complete the discussions by this weekend — Saturday or Sunday. I believe they can finish this,” he said.

SPLA spokesman Yasser Arman had echoed the US envoy’s comments, saying he believed a framework deal could be inked by Saturday, although some technical details would be left to the comprehensive agreement.

The war between Khartoum and the SPLA is Africa’s longest-running conflict. At least 1.5 million people have been killed in the fighting and associated famines and epidemics. More than four million more have been forced from their homes.