Gov't, SPLM/A extend truce agreement for three months

The Sudanese government and the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), have extended a cessation of hostilities agreement signed nearly two years ago to allow peace talks aimed at ending two decades of civil war to continue, both sides said on Thursday. The Memorandum of Understanding on Cessation of Hostilities was extended on Monday for a further three months from 1 September to 30 November 2004. The agreement, signed in October 2002, was initially intended to last three months, but has since been extended every three months as peace talks between Khartoum and SPLM/A continued. A statement from the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi, said Khartoum’s envoy to Kenya, Ali Abdul-Rahman Al-Neimeri, signed on behalf of his government, while Commander Taban Deng signed for SPLM/A. The IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] special envoy on Sudan's peace process, Gen Lazaras Sumbeiyo, was among those present.. The SPLM/A, in a separate statement issued by its spokesman, Samson Kwaje, said: "As of date, nearly all the root causes of conflict and violence in [south] Sudan have been adequately addressed through the six protocols already signed.” The two sides are yet to reach an agreement on a comprehensive peace agreement, a permanent ceasefire and the modalities for implementing the final settlement, including regional and international guarantees for the envisaged comprehensive pact. Kwaje said that a comprehensive peace agreement between the SPLM/A and the government, if reached and implemented, could provide the basis for the resolution of conflicts in other regions of the Sudan, including the western region of Darfur where an insurrection erupted early last year. "Infact, such an agreement will provide a suitable model for resolving problems emanating from marginalisation and exclusion in all spheres of government by the clique in the centre," Kwaje said. “The SPLM/SPLA reiterates its commitment to the IGAD peace process and is ready for the resumption of the talks." The talks, which are being held in the Kenyan town of Naivasha and are sponsored by IGAD, were adjourned in July. Representatives from both sides discussed the details of an envisaged permanent ceasefire deal during the latest round of talks. The conflict in southern Sudan erupted in 1983 when rebels in the mainly Christian and animist south took up arms against authorities based in the in the Muslim, largely Arabised north to demand greater autonomy for their region.