Sudan govt delegation arrives in Cairo for talks with opposition alliance

CAIRO, Oct 21, 2004 (Xinhua) — A Sudanese government delegation arrived here Thursday to take part in a second round of dialogue between Khartoum and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Egypt’s official MENA news agency reported.

The delegation was headed by Sudanese Minister of Federal Rule Nafei Ali Nafei and comprised 20 members, MENA said.

The NDA, as an umbrella group, includes southern Sudanese rebels and Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), one of the two main rebel groups in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

The meeting is expected to open late Thursday, but reports said the SLA will arrive in Cairo on Friday.

NDA spokesman Hatem El Ser told MENA Wednesday dialogue between the two sides would be conducted through four committees to cover constitutional, legal, economic and political issues.

The two sides held a procedural session here in August and reached an agreement on holding direct talks with a set agenda.

The African mini summit on the Darfur issue wrapped up in Tripoli late Sunday after leaders and foreign ministers from Nigeria, Sudan, Libya, Egypt and Chad convened for two hours.

After the meeting, the leaders issued a final statement calling on the international community to provide necessary help and aid to the Darfur region as well as the African Union (AU) in order to solve the crisis.

According to a UN report, the Darfur crisis, which began 20 months ago, has so far claimed many lives with many more displaced.

The Africa Union has deployed some 300 soldiers to the Darfur region to protect about 150 observers, who are monitoring a ceasefire reached in April between Khartoum and Darfur rebel groups.