NAIVASHA, Kenya, 25 September 2003 — The main rebel group in Sudan and the Khartoum government have reached agreement on security issues that are crucial to a comprehensive accord to end two decades of war, spokesmen for both sides said yesterday.
“We have come to an agreement regarding the deployment of forces and the size of the forces, as well as other major issues that were sticking points in the talks,” government spokesman Sayed Al-Khatibu said in the Kenyan town of Naivasha.
“We expect that the agreement on this framework will make the remaining issues of the talks easier,” he added. The agreement comes during ongoing talks here between Sudan’s vice president, Ali Osman Taha, and the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), John Garang, notably on how each side’s forces will be deployed during a six-year period of self-rule in the south of the vast country.
“There has been a breakthrough on one of the outstanding issues — that is security and military arrangements,” SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje later said. “We have agreed on substantial withdrawal of the government forces from the south, redeployment of SPLA forces in Khartoum and the formation of equal units of an integrated force in Southern Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains,” he added.
“The agreement has been satisfying to the SPLA. The talks will now get momentum. We hope to tackle the remaining issues,” Kwaje said. On Sunday, both delegations in Kenya agreed to extend their cease-fire by two months beyond its scheduled expiration at the end of September.
Garang then said he expected a comprehensive peace agreement to be signed within two months. Under an agreement signed in Kenya in July last year, the south will enjoy autonomy from Khartoum for six years, following which a referendum will be held to determine whether the south will secede or remain part of Sudan. The six-year interim period will come into effect once a comprehensive peace agreement is signed.
