Darfur peace talks expected to resume on Thursday
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
December 3, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – The African Union-brokered peace talks between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups from the Darfur region are expected resume on Thursday in the Ethiopian capital.
The talks are set for resumption after the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel’s (AUHIP) lead negotiator, Thabo Mbeki, returned to Addis Ababa after a visit to Germany.
Sources close to the mediation team on Wednesday told Sudan Tribune that the former South African president held talks with German officials, including foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, on the ongoing peace process and other concerns in Sudan.
However, chief rebel negotiator Ahmed Tugod told Sudan Tribune that Mbeki’s visit to Germany was unrelated to the Sudanese peace process.
Tugod said Mbeki’s visit was part of his campaign to address some of the other problems facing Sudan, including the country’s financial crisis.
He said Mbeki is working with the Germany government and other international actors to secure debt relief.
Mbeki is expected to restart peace negotiations with a new approach, most likely after receiving recommendations from Germany.
The negotiating parties have so far shown a resistance to making any concessions to their positions and the mediation team has yet to decide on a specific plan on how to move forward.
The UN special envoy to Sudan, Haile Menkerios, who was delegated to deliver Mbeki’s message to Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir arrived in Addis Ababa on Wednesday following a meeting on Tuesday regarding conflicts in Darfur and the Two Areas.
Although talks between the two sides are expected to resume on Thursday, the government delegation is yet to arrive in Addis Ababa.
The Sudanese government and delegations for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Minni Minnawi-led faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) have been taking part talks in Addis Ababa on a cessation of hostilities and security arrangements in Darfur since 23 November.
Last week, the two parties come to a stalemate, with both sides trading accusations of deliberately stalling the peace process.
(ST)