Sudan rebels suspend peace talks after chemical attack claims

A prominent Sudanese rebel group said on Friday it was suspending peace talks with Khartoum after a rights group accused government forces of using chemical weapons against civilians in war-torn Darfur.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North, which is fighting government troops in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, this summer signed a roadmap brokered by African mediators to end conflict in the two states.
But on Friday the SPLM-N said it would suspend talks with Khartoum after Amnesty International accused government forces of unleashing chemical weapons on civilians in Darfur state this year, killing up to 250 people.
Urging an investigation into the suspected attacks, the rebel group in a statement announced an “immediate suspension of political engagement with the Sudan government on all political matters, including national dialogue and peace negotiations”.
It said Amnesty’s report showed a “new dimension to the genocidal war in Sudan, and as such, the people of Sudan, the regional and the international community should take it seriously”.