Sides agree to monitor ceasefire

At the end of the current round of peace talks in Kenya, Sudan's warring sides have agreed to monitor a cessation of hostilities accord. The Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed an accord to establish a monitoring and verification mechanism under an already-existing Memorandum of Understanding on the cessation of hostilities. Media sources, however, indicated that little progress was made on issues such as wealth and power sharing between the north and the south, as well as security arrangements during a six-year transition period provided for in the Machakos protocol, signed last July. The closed-door session reportedly went through some difficulties after the government delegation threatened to leave the meeting in protest against the presence of two separate delegations from Sudan's umbrella opposition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and the Ummah political party. The two groups were not included in the earlier negotiations. Chief mediator in the talks, Lazarus Sumbeiywo of Kenya, said he would have high-level consultations with both Khartoum and the rebels in the "next couple of days" before deciding when the talks would resume.