Late arrival of two rebel leaders delays Sudan’s opposition meeting
June 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – A consultative meeting of the opposition alliance of the Sudan Call forces that was scheduled to be held on Thursday in Addis Ababa has been delayed due to the late arrival of two rebel leaders to the Ethiopian capital.
Leaders of the National Umma Party (NUP) al-Sadiq al-Mahdi and the Sudanese Congress Party (SoCP) Omer el-Digair had arrived in Addis Ababa on Thursday to take part in the meeting.
The meeting is expected to tackle organizational issues pertaining to the alliance’s structures besides a proposed meeting with the chief African mediator Thabo Mbeki to discus reservations of the Sudan Call forces on the Roadmap Agreement.
Sudan Call leaders will also meet with the international envoys upon an invitation from the US envoy to Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth to discuss the peace plan.
Three armed groups including the JEM, SLM-MM, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and the NUP last March refused a Roadmap Agreement for peace brokered by Mbeki, saying it would reproduce the regime.
The international community continues to exert efforts in a bid to bridge the gaps and bring them to ink the Roadmap Agreement, considering it represents a good opportunity to end war in Sudan and to open humanitarian access to the needy in the war affected areas.
The holdout groups say they reject the roadmap because, among others, it excludes their allies in the opposition and because they want an inclusive process. Nonetheless, they accept to continue discussions over the peace plan with the African mediation and the international facilitators.
However, their allies of the left parties, gathered in the National Consensus Forces (NCF) declined to participate in such meetings over the peace negotiations, saying they are not concerned by the dialogue with the regime.
(ST)
