Sudan declares absent from consultative meeting called for by AU

Sudan on Friday officially announced that it would not participate in a consultative meeting scheduled this month called for by the African Union, Sudanese Media Center reported.

The African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) has invited the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the Sudan Liberation Movement, the Justice and Equality Movement and the opposition National Umma Party for a consultative meeting, slated from 16 to 18 this month in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

"The invitation came for confusion rather than for strategic consultation," Ahmed Bilal Osman, Sudan's Information Minister, was quoted as saying.

However, Osman said the government would participate if the AUHIP clarifies the purpose of the meeting.

"If the invitation is for the dialogue, it should come from the AUHIP or the head of the mechanism," he said.

He stressed that "a negotiation is between the government and the movements, while a dialogue involves all sectors."

The SPLM said earlier that it received the invitation to convene a consultative meeting in mid-March.

The Sudanese government has been fighting the armed rebel groups in Darfur region since 2003, while South Kordofan and Blue Nile have been witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the SPLM rebels since 2011.

So far 10 rounds of peace talks have been held in Addis Ababa between the Sudanese government and the SPLM, which failed to end the conflicts.

Also, the talks between the government and the Darfur armed movements haven't helped reach cessation. Endit