112 POWs to be released in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Mar 19, 2005 (PANA) — A Sudanese pro-government organisation
has made arrangements for the return of 112 government soldiers
held as Prisoners of War (POWs) by the Sudan People’s Liberation
Army/Movement (SPLA/M) following January’s peace agreement
to end the war in south Sudan, the local press reported Saturday.

Ahmed Mufti, Chairman of the Committee for Eradication of the
Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWAC) was quoted as saying
the release was under the framework of co-operation between the
SPLA/M and CEAWC.

“CEAWAC has made the necessary arrangements for the return of the
POWs included in the list in a period that will not exceed two weeks
from now,” Mufti said, and thanked the former rebel SPLA/M for the
gesture.

The Khartoum government and John Garang-led SPLA/M signed a peace
agreement in January to end more than two decades of civil war that
claimed more than 1.5 million lives in south Sudan.

Describing the initiative as a fruit of the long-awaited peace deal,
Mufti said the CEAWC founded in 1999 had taken the necessary measures
to return the POWs to their families.

The 112 are the first batch of 700 POWS expected to be released.