Powell arrives in Kenya for Sudan peace signing

NAIROBI, Jan 7 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Kenya on Friday to witness the fruition of one of his early policy priorities, the signing of a peace accord ending southern Sudan’s civil war.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and John Garang, leader of the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), are due to ink the deal on Sunday ending 21 years of fighting in the oil-producing south which has killed more than 2 million people.

Powell, whose visit is likely to be one of his last foreign trips before he steps down in a fortnight, declined to speak to reporters on his arrival in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The trip reflects Washington’s longstanding efforts to push Khartoum and rebels towards a deal.

Government and SPLA/M delegates signed the final chapters of the deal on Dec. 31.

Rebels have been fighting the government for greater autonomy for the mainly animist or Christian south since 1983, when Khartoum tried to impose Islamic law on the entire country.

Oil, ethnicity and governance have since complicated the conflict.

The United States, which lists Sudan as a state sponsor or terrorism, has said it will help Khartoum implement the peace accords and help with reconstruction.

Powell said in early 2001 the Bush administration had a deep commitment to peace in Sudan. Within months of taking office, he went to Africa and offered the Khartoum government better relations if Sudanese forces stopped bombing southern villages.

The southern peace deal does not cover the conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region, which the United Nations calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Powell is expected to hold talks with Kenyan government officials and Sudanese leaders about Darfur while he is Nairobi.