Sudan’s foes enter last phase of talks with signing
By Katie Nguyen
NAIROBI, June 5 (Reuters) – Amid shrieks of joy and singing, Sudan’s government and southern rebels launched the final phase of talks to end Africa’s longest civil war with a signing ceremony on Saturday.
First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and rebel leader John Garang signed a document incorporating six accords, the building blocks for a comprehensive peace deal to end 21 years of civil war in the oil-producing country.
“The document we have just signed…represents a solemn declaration on our part that war in Sudan is truly coming to an end,” Garang said at the State House ceremony hosted by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki in Nairobi.
Before a gathering of foreign dignitaries, including Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, Taha and Garang held aloft copies of the document in which both sides pledged to wrap up negotiations as soon as possible.
“I would like to reiterate the determination of the government of Sudan to continue the peace process and implement all texts relating to this peace process,” Taha said.
The peace talks do not cover a separate conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, which the United Nations says has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The two sides are due to discuss ceasefire arrangements and how to implement a final deal when they resume talks on June 22.
Mediators in Kenya, where talks are being held, have said a final deal could be concluded within two months.
The government and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels signed landmark protocols on May 26 on how to share power and manage three disputed areas.
Previous accords relate to a vote in the south on secession after a six-year transition period, forming a post-war national army and the equal division of oil revenues during the interim.
Sudan’s civil war has killed an estimated two million people, mainly through famine and disease since 1983 when Khartoum tried to impose Islamic sharia law on the mainly animist south.
Oil, religion and ideology have been complicating factors in the war.