Sudan foes expect to to sign key peace texts in coming days
NAIROBI, May 7 (AFP) — Sudan’s government and main rebel group expect to sign key elements of a comprehensive accord to end more than two decades of war in the next few days, mediators said.
The Khartoum government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) “reiterated their commitment to resolving the remaining issues and pledged to reach an agreement in the coming days,” according to a statement from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the grouping of African states mediating in the conflict.
The current, much extended, round of negotiations in Kenya led by Vice President Ali Osman Taha and SPLA leader John Garang is dealing with power-sharing and the status of three disputed geographical areas.
“We can reach an agreement as soon as Sunday on all the remaining issues (on the agenda of the current round),” said an SPLA source who asked not to be named.
Ministers from members states of an IGAD subcommittee handling the Sudan dossier — Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya — met in Naivasha 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Nairobi on Friday. They urged Taha and Garang “to exercise flexibility in reaching understanding on all the remaining aspects,” said the statement.
Mediation officials told AFP that the two sides had narrowed their differences on whether Islamic law should apply in Khartoum during a six-year transition period when the city will serve as joint capital for both north and south.
Even if texts are signed in the coming days, another round of talks will be needed to clinch agreement on the details of a comprehensive ceasefire, the modalities for its implementation and the nature of an international peacekeeping force.
“This could take several months,” according to one Nairobi-based analyst following the peace process.
The war, coupled with recurrent famine and disease, has claimed at least 1.5 million lives and displaced more than four million people.
Since July 2002, when the two sides struck an accord granting the south the right to a referendum after a six-year transition period, other deals have been reached on a 50-50 split of the country’s wealth — particularly revenues from oil — and on how to manage government and SPLA armies during the interim period.
The south, where most people observe Christian or traditional faiths, has been fighting to end its domination and marginalisation by successive governments in Khartoum.