adminKHARTOUM. — The UN urged the Sudanese government and rebels, meeting yesterday for their first peace talks in almost a year, to declare an immediate ceasefire so aid can reach more than one million civilians. Negotiations between Khartoum and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) were to open in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, later on Thursday under African Union mediation.
AU officials held separate meetings with the two sides during the morning to draw up the agenda.
“Both parties in these talks are urged to declare an immediate cessation of hostilities allowing humanitarian teams to provide much needed support to these areas,” the head of the UN mission in Sudan, Ali Al-Za’tari, said in a statement.
There are no reliable figures for how many people have died in the Kordofan region and Blue Nile state, where the SPLM-N has been fighting for nearly three years, drawing support from among their non-Arab populations.
The UN says an estimated 1.2 million have been displaced or otherwise affected in the two areas which both lie on the South Sudan border.
Late Wednesday, state radio said a landmine blast in South Kordofan killed five people and wounded 13. The report could not be verified.
Sudanese authorities have restricted access to the war zones for aid workers, journalists and foreign diplomats, although relief has reached people in government-controlled zones.
There has been no aid access into SPLM-N areas from within Sudan since 2011, and a senior UN official last year said people were surviving on roots and leaves.
“I urge both parties to ensure that the welfare of civilians in these states is an absolute priority during these talks,” Za’tari said.
Short-lived peace talks between Khartoum and the rebels in Addis Ababa last April broke down over the issue of humanitarian access. — AFP.
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