Isma’il says IGAD meeting would be “untimely”

A proposed meeting of the government and rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was “untimely” until differences between the two sides were worked out by recently-formed permanent negotiating committees, according to Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Uthman Isma’il, cited by the ‘Al-Ray al-Amm’ newspaper on Thursday. The next meeting in the IGAD process had been due to take place in August. The permanent negotiating committees, based in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, [since Kenya is currently chairing the IGAD peace process on Sudan] were preparing to start work next week, Isma’il added. He also denied SPLM/A claims that the government was bombing civilian positions in southern Sudan, describing the allegations as “repetitive” and “baseless”. Isma’il said that SPLM/A leader John Garang continued to make such allegations in order to avoid agreeing to a comprehensive ceasefire which the government had called for, and as a way of strengthening his hand during meetings intended to agree a comprehensive political solution, the report added.