Sudan’s ruling government on Tuesday agreed to delay a new round of peace talks with major rebel groups that were scheduled to be held in Juba this week, reported Yahoo News.
The talks, which were due to begin Thursday, have been delayed at the request of Juba, which is mediating the negotiations, Sudan’s ruling sovereign council said in a statement. It has now been pushed back to December 10.
“The government is looking forward to resume the negotiations on the new date,” Mohamed al-Taayushi, a member of the sovereign council, said in the statement.
Tut Kew Gatluak, head of the South Sudan mediation team, told journalists that the talks have been postponed until December due to the fact that members of the various rebel groups negotiating with the Sudan Sovereign Council will be attending workshops within the region organized by the African Union.
“We had proposed Nov.21 as a day for the second round of the Sudanese peace talks but we have instead agreed to extend the talks until Dec.10,” Gatluak said.
He disclosed that Juba will remain the venue for the talks.
Notably, the peace talks between the new Sudanese government and the rebels who fought now-ousted President Omar al-Bashir’s forces in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan opened last month in Juba. The transitional government, which is tasked with leading the way to civilian rule after Bashir’s ousting, has vowed to bring peace to these conflict zones.
During the first round of peace talks with Sudan”s Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan Liberation Movement /Minni Minnawi faction and the Sudan People”s Liberation Movement/northern sector in October, Khartoum agreed to allow humanitarian relief into the three war-torn states, where years of conflict have left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced.
The 11-member joint civilian-military sovereign council also announced a permanent ceasefire in the three conflict zones.
