Row breaks out over terms of temporary truce

A row between Sudan's warring parties over the terms of a temporary ceasefire they signed on Tuesday has plunged the Sudanese peace talks, which opened in Kenya this week to end the country's 19-year civil war, into uncertainty. The row began on Thursday when the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) claimed that the Sudanese government had violated the countrywide ceasefire only 10 minutes after midday, local time, when it became effective. The agreement, which became effective at midday on Thursday, committed both parties to cease hostilities throughout Sudan for the duration of the ongoing talks, and to ensure a military stand-down of their respective forces, including their supporting militia groups. Samson Kwaje, the SPLM/A spokesman in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, confirmed the fighting, which had taken place in the east and lasted three hours, as Sudanese troops attempted to recapture significant towns the Eritrean-based opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) - of which SPLM/A is the biggest component - seized on 3 October. Kwaje said continued fighting in the east would be a violation of the temporary ceasefire. However, he said, he could not tell whether it would affect the ongoing peace talks in Kenya. "Of course our forces will fight back. But we can't say now how this will affect the talks. We will examine [the matter] case by case," he said. Khartoum has not officially responded to the charge, but has insisted that the fighting in in the eastern part of the country was a result of Eritrean aggression, and was not covered by the temporary ceasefire it signed with SPLM/A. This position was reflected by the presidential peace adviser, Ghazi Salah al-Din al-Atabani's comments, in which he stated that although the truce covered "all parts of Sudan", government forces might continue fighting on the eastern front, according to AFP. A source in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, told IRIN on Friday that it appeared that the government "would continue to fight on in the east irrespective of what was agreed upon in Kenya". According to the source, who chose to remain anonymous, the NDA's capture of major eastern government strongholds were a "major blow", and Khartoum would "not rest" until they were recaptured. "The government stand is wrong. In any case, the ceasefire is not about people, it's about ending hostilities through out the country," the source said. As a result of Sudan's complaints, the Ethiopia-based African Union last week said it would send a fact-finding mission to verify Eritrea's involvement or otherwise in fighting in eastern Sudan. The accusations have increased tension between Khartoum and Asmara, despite Eritrea's denials. Kwaje also denied any support from Eritrea for NDA. "They [Sudanese government] always look for scapegoats. When we are fighting in the east, they say Eritrea is involved. When we fight in the south, they say the Ugandan government is involved," Kwaje told IRIN. "Libyan independent journalists even visited the area and found Eritrea is not involved," he added.