Rebel soldiers come home

Some 400 soldiers from Sudan’s opposition Umma Party have crossed the border from Eritrea and returned to Sudan’s eastern Kasala region. Umma spokesman Abdul Rasoul el Nur told reporters in Kasala that the returning Umma soldiers would be moved to a camp in Fao region, west of Kasala, Panafrican News Agency (PANA) said. The contingent of some 400 men constitutes the last returning batch of Umma soldiers, allied to former Prime Minister Sadik el Mahdi. They have agreed to return to Sudan based on an accord for further negotiation of a return to democratic rule in Sudan, signed late 1999. In July, a similar group closed its camps in Ethiopia and returned to Sudan, PANA said. The “declaration of principles” accord between Mahdi and the government was brokered by authorities in Djibouti. A number of Umma party leaders, including General Secretary Omar Nur el Dayim, have returned to the country and started talks with government representatives. Mahdi has withdrawn from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and said he would return from exile later this month.