The US Special Envoy for Sudan, Donald Booth, met with Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok in Khartoum on Monday. The peace talks with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu (SPLM-N El Hilu) will resume in the third week of October. In Juba, Lt Gen Mohamed Hemeti, said that the overall peace agreement signed with the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance will definitely be implemented.

During his meeting with Hamdok, the US envoy emphasised the keenness of the USA and the Sudan Troika (USA, UK, and Norway) to support the completion of the peace process through separate negotiations with the holdout SPLM-N El Hilu, and the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur.

Booth pledged they will stand by Sudan’s transitional government during the implementation of the peace agreement on the ground.

The two sides further discussed bilateral relations between America and Sudan, and the endeavours to develop them, as well as the ongoing efforts to lift the name of Sudan from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, in order to help the country re-integrate into the international financial and economic systems.

Secularism

The head of the South Sudanese mediation committee, Tut Galuak, announced yesterday that negotiations with the SPLM-H Hilu will resume in the third week of this October.

On August 20, the rebel group active in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan and in parts of Blue Nile state withdrew from the peace talks it entered separately in the South Sudanese capital Juba, in protest against the chairman of the government delegation, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Commander Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’. The rebels consider the RSF to be “hostile to the Sudanese people and peace”.

Previously, negotiations between the two parties were suspended because of the demands of the SLPLM-N El Hilu concerning secularism and self-determination in South Kordofan.

Implementation

During a ceremony organised by the Darfuri Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on Monday to celebrate the final signing of the peace agreement of Khartoum with members of the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance on October 3, Hemeti, who is also Vice President of the Sovereign Council, pledged to implement the agreement.

In his address to the participants, he said that one of the main reasons for the failure of previous agreements is their disavowal and neglect by the government.

He stressed “the need to pay attention to justice and balanced development throughout the country”.
JEM leader Jibril Ibrahim that Sudan’s problem is the management of resources. He further called on “everyone to disassociate themselves from tribalism, to abide by the law, and to refrain from using weapons during conflicts”.

On Monday, residents of Saraf Omra town in North Darfur celebrated the signing of the peace agreement in Juba. The participants saluted the armed struggle movements in Darfur, and lauded them for the gains achieved for the region