Sudan rebels sign AU-brokered peace roadmap

Prominent Sudanese rebel groups said on Tuesday they have signed a roadmap brokered by African Union mediators to end deadly conflicts in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced over the years in the three regions as ethnic minority groups rebelled against President Omar al-Bashir’s Arab-dominated government.
While Khartoum representatives signed the roadmap at a previous round of talks in March in Addis Ababa, prominent rebel groups refused to come on board at the time.
But on Monday three of these groups – the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army – signed it in the Ethiopian capital.
Another faction of the Sudan Liberation Army is still to sign.
“The top priority is to stop the wars and deliver humanitarian aid to people affected,” Sudan Call, a Sudanese group comprising rebel movements and opposition political parties, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The Sudanese people look forward to a comprehensive peace process.”
The roadmap paves the way for a permanent ceasefire to be negotiated and ways for humanitarian aid to be delivered to the three areas.
While Khartoum says that the conflict in Darfur that erupted in 2003 has already ended, neither the government forces nor rebels have gained a decisive upper hand in Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
“What happened yesterday is a positive step on the road to a comprehensive and peaceful solution to the Sudan crisis,” the spokesperson for the Justice and Equality Movement said.
“We will now start direct negotiations for a ceasefire in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile,” Jibril Bilal said, referring to the talks expected to start on Tuesday in Addis Ababa.
Bilal said a ceasefire will help “bring security to these three areas and also help deliver humanitarian aid to civilians” there.