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Sudan receives invitation from AU to resume talks with SPLM rebels

Xinhua, October 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sudan on Tuesday received an invitation from the African Union (AU) to resume negotiations on South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas early next November in Ethiopia, Sudanese Media Center (SMC) reported.

The AU High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan is leading the mediation between Khartoum and rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector which is fighting the Sudanese army at South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas.

"The round of talks with the SPLM will be confined to the issues of the two areas only and has nothing to do with the national dialogue," the SMC quoted Amin Hassan Omer, a leading member in the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), as saying.

"We are ready to resume a new round of negotiations on the declared date if the other party committed to the timetable announced by the African mediation," he added.

He reiterated the government's willingness to reach a deal to end the conflict in the two areas.

"The government delegation will carry a comprehensive vision for the humanitarian and security courses to end the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile," he said.

Eight rounds of talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLM/northern sector, the last of which in December 2014, have failed to reach a deal to end the conflict in the two areas which broke out in 2011. Endit