Mediators consult Sudan foes to break impasse at peace talks in Kenya

NAIROBI, April 28 (AFP) — Mediators consulted Sudan’s Vice President Ali Osman Taha and the leader of Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) John Garang in a bid to break an impasse in peace talks aimed at ending Africa’s most catastrophic combat.

“Taha and Garang have not met, but I have been consulting with both of them separately,” retired Kenyan army general Lazaro Sumbeiywo told AFP by telephone from the talks’ venue in Naivasha, 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The two leaders, who have not held face-to-face talks for at least 10 days now, returned to the peace talks in Kenya this week after consulting with their respective sides in Khartoum and Asmara on the remaining sticking point — what law should apply in the capital, Khartoum.

This round of talks, which started in September 2003, is deadlocked on whether Islamic law should apply in Khartoum during a six-year transition period when the city will serve as joint capital for before a referendum on self-determination is held for the south.

In previous rounds, the two sides have agreed to equally share national resources, notably oil revenue, and Khartoum agreed to withdraw its massive troops from southern positions to pave the way for the creation of integrated army units.

The war in Sudan erupted in 1983, when the south, where most people observe Christianity and traditional religions, took up arms to end domination by the wealthier Muslim and Arabised north.

The conflict, coupled by recurrent famine and diseases, has claimed at least 1.5 million lives and sent more than four million others fleeing from their homelands.