Sudan, SPLM-N Hilu to discuss CoH agreement, African roadmap next week: Govt

January 28, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s negotiating team on the conflict in the Two Areas said talks with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) Abdelaziz al-Hilu would resume next Saturday pointing the two sides will discuss a Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) agreement.

On January 16, the Sudanese government and SPLM-N al-Hilu received invitations from the African mediation to resume talks on a cessation of hostilities agreement from 1 to 2 February in Addis Ababa.

The SPLM-N Agar won’t participate in the round of talks which aims to formalize the current unilateral truce because the Movement’s military in South Kordofan command has sided with al-Hilu, the mediators believe.

In parallel, the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) invited the government, armed and political opposition groups for bilateral meetings with them to consult them on the roadmap signed in March and August 2016 and ways to upgrade it to fit with the political developments in the country six sixteen months.

The head of the government negotiating team Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid said they would participate in the Two Areas talks from 3 to 4 February in Addis Ababa.

Speaking at a media briefing on Sunday in Khartoum, Hamid said negotiations would resume from where the last talks sessions have ended, stressing they are determined to reach a ceasefire deal paving the way for a comprehensive peace.
For his part, the government delegation spokesperson Hassan Hamid said the government has received an invitation from the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to participate in two rounds of talks on the Two Areas.

“The first round would be held in early February and it pertains to the completion of discussions on a declaration of a cessation of hostilities paving the way for immediate ceasefire and security arrangements to facilitate humanitarian access,” he added.

The spokesperson pointed out that the atmosphere is ripe to resume the Two Areas talks, saying the two sides would discuss the Roadmap agreement.

“The government has informed the African mediation of its participation [in the talks] and the resumption of negotiations from where the previous meetings have ended and sent the list of names of its negotiating team,” he added.

The security talks on the cessation of hostilities will not include a humanitarian agreement as it was the case during the last round of talks in August 2016.

The head of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) confirmed his participation in the consultations meeting with the mediators over the roadmap agreement. But the Sudanese Congress Party regretted that the AUHIP didn’t condemn the arrest of its leader Omar al-Digair and declined the invitation.

Also, the SPLM-N Agar slammed the mediation for its exclusion from the military talks but it didn’t spell out its position from the political consultations. The same for the Sudan Liberation Movement- Minni Minnawi and the Justice and Equality Movement of Gibril Ibrahim, the two groups didn’t announce if they will take part in individual consultations meeting with the mediators or not.

The African Union (AU) is brokering comprehensive peace talks to end the war and achieve democratic reforms. The two-track process comprises the Sudanese government and opposition forces including the armed groups in Darfur and the Two Areas.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the SPLM-N rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan, also known as the Two Areas since 2011 and a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

The SPLM-N is now divided into two factions: one led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu and the other led by Malik Agar. The rift emerged several months ago over the right of self-determination and other organisational issues.

The government and the opposition Sudan Call alliance including the SPLM-N signed in March and August 2016 the Roadmap Agreement brokered by the AUHIP including several steps towards their participation in a national constitutional process inside Sudan.

However, the parties during the last round of talks in August 2016 failed to sign a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian agreements that are seen crucial before to move forward in the roadmap implementation process.

The discussions stalled over the demand of the rebel group to establish a corridor from Asosa on the Ethiopian border to deliver 20 percent of the humanitarian aid directly to the SPLM-N-controlled areas in the Blue Nile state.

(ST)