The opposition Ummah Party (UP) leader, Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, and the head of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), John Garang, have begun talks on a possible cease-fire, the Sudanese newspaper 'Al-Ra'y al-Amm' reported on 5 May. Meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, in the presence of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the two Sudanese leaders agreed to a proposal for opposition groups to unite and enter into peace talks with the Khartoum government, the newspaper said.
'Al-Ra'y al-Amm' said Garang had called on the Sudanese government to "adopt a clear and frank position on the issues contained in the Mahdi proposal". Garang said the SPLM and Mahdi's UP agreed on the proposal, but that "differences remained" between the SPLM and the Khartoum leadership.
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