A Sudanese national flag is attached to a machine gun of Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo |
Peace talks between key rebel groups and the Sudanese government hit an obstacle on Wednesday when one major group said it will not sit down for direct talks with Khartoum until its demands are met.
The Sudan Peopleโs Liberation Movement-North, a rebel group in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, accused Sudanโs Rapid Support Forces (RSF), its most powerful paramilitary group, of occupying new areas and attacking and arresting traders.
In a press conference in Juba, SPLM-N chief negotiator Ammar Amoun said that his groupโs preconditions to returning to the negotiating table include the release of all prisoners, the withdrawal of government forces from areas theyโve taken and a halt to all hostilities.
โIf the government clears all these demands, we are ready to come back to the table with the commitment we declared during the Juba Declarationโ, Amoun said.
The Sudanese government denied the accusations and said it was willing to investigate.
โThe government is shocked,โ said spokesman Mohammed Hassan Eltaishi. โThe government is ready to investigate those behind the attack (on traders) and will bring them to justice..this incident should not be a big obstacle to the ongoing peace negotiations,โ he added.
Sudanโs ruling council and rebel leaders resumed peace talks on Monday to end the countryโs multiple conflicts, a key condition for the countryโs removal from the United Statesโ sponsors of terrorism list.
Mediators said in a statement late on Wednesday that the talks were postponed to Thursday โin order to resolve this misunderstanding.โ
The council, a transitional government, has made peace talks with rebels fighting Khartoum one of its main priorities.
Being designated a state sponsor of terrorism cuts Sudan off from desperately needed debt relief and financing from lenders such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Removal from the list potentially opens the door for foreign investment.
REUTERS