KHARTOUM, 20 September 2003 — Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail said Thursday that further “progress” had been made in high-level talks in Kenya aimed at clinching an end to Sudan’s devastating civil war. “The information coming from Kenya is that progress has been made in the negotiations, and the two sides are trying to eliminate obstacles” to a final settlement, the minister told reporters here.

First Vice President Ali Osman Taha and John Garang, head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army have been trying to hammer out the details of how government troops and rebel forces will be deployed once a final accord is signed to end a seemingly endless war.

The subject of these particular talks are security arrangements during and after a six-year period of autonomy for rebel-held southern Sudan agreed upon in July 2001.

Other officials have reported progress in the talks this week, and a leading analyst said the process had reached a “moment of truth.” “We have arrived at a moment of truth in the Sudan peace process,” John Prendergast, the co-director of the International Crisis Group’s Africa program, told a news conference in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Sudan’s north-south civil war dates back to the 19th century and beyond. Its latest phase began when the SPLA took up arms in 1983. Since then, more than 1.5 million people have been killed and four million displaced. The conflict takes place against a background of domination of the mainly black African, animist or Christian south by the Arab, Islamic north, but has become increasingly driven by a fight for control of natural resources, notably oil.

The Sudanese government has decided to accord aliens freedom of movement within the country to help them conduct their business and acquaint themselves with the country, Ismail said.

He said a meeting of officials of the defence, interior and humanitarian affairs ministries and security authority that he chaired Thursday took several resolutions for facilitation of travel and movement to aliens within Sudan.

“Seeing that the current arrangements for entry and residence permits were satisfactory, the meeting decided that aliens be accorded freedom of movement inside the country,” said Ismail. He said permits to travel to war zones would be issued “in a short period of time.”

Ismail said the arrangements were made to enable foreign relief workers to offer humanitarian assistance, to help other foreigners get to know the country’s tourist attractions and enable foreign diplomats to familiarize themselves with the climate and resources of the country.

Meanwhile, northern merchants in southern Sudan are accusing the rebel movement of contemplating “ethnic cleansing” and of confiscating northerners’ property in rebel-held areas. Siddeiq Mohamed Korak, secretary-general of the Northern Merchants Union in the south, has been visiting Khartoum to communicate their grievances and fears to the authorities here after speaking to reporters about the problem.

“Persons affiliated to the (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Army) have confiscated shops, farms and houses of some of the northern merchants and gave them to some southerners in an unexpected act ahead of conclusion of a peace accord,” Korak told journalists.

“In part, I have come here for safety as I have escaped assassination in a miracle,” the well-known businessman said.