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Sudan peace talks to resume
The Sudanese government and southern rebels have agreed to a cessation of hostilities and the resumption of peace talks to end the country's 19-year civil war. The talks - which were being held in Kenya - were suspended after the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels took the key southern garrison town of Torit early in September. Actually, it seems they took it back, but we won't go into that... The BBC's East Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says the decision will come as a huge relief to the millions of Sudanese desperate for an end to Africa's longest running war. Kenyan mediator Lazaro Sumbeiywo told the BBC that discussions would resume in 10 days' time, on 14 October. A memorandum of understanding signed by the government and the rebels calls for a military stand-down by all forces and the maximum of restraint. A spokesman for the rebels, Justin Arop, said the SPLA had promised to stop fighting and would only use arms in self-defence. The agreement is a major breakthrough, although it amounts to a climbdown for the government, which has settled for less than it wanted. That's probably because the rebels cut off the gummint's oil — there was all that money, just sitting there... Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-10-06 |
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