The Sudanese power-sharing government has agreed to hold new peace talks with a major rebel group active in the country’s southern borderlands, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), reported Reuters.
The development comes just days after Khartoum signed a peace deal with other groups.
On Friday, the government agreed to the move with the rebel group led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu. The SPLM-N is among the groups that did not join a peace deal signed on Monday. The group had originally joined the Juba talks but suspended its participation eventually.
Al-Hilu’s group has now agreed with the Sudanese government on the “necessity” to reach a complete political solution in Sudan and address the root causes of its conflicts, the office of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on its website. The website said both sides had agreed to conduct workshops for different issues but gave no timeframe or details.
“Yes, it is true. The meeting has taken place in Addis Ababa between us and Prime Minister Hamdok,” Aman Amum, the rebel group’s chief negotiator, said confirming the agreement. “We will continue negotiation under Juba Mediation. So far, there’s no agreed date for the talks.”
On Monday, the Sudanese government signed a peace deal with three major rebel groups, including factions from Darfur where more than 300,000 people are estimated to have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since 2003.
As per the deal, the rebels will be given a share in government institutions – 35 percent of cabinet ministers, 75 seats in the upcoming 300-member transitional legislative assembly, and three members in the 11-person sovereign council. It also proposes a federal system for Sudan and grants autonomy to the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions. The Darfur region, which was split into five states, will be reunified into one area after seven months and will have its own governor.
