US envoy confers with Sudanese president to salvage peace talks
Sudan-USA, Politics, 7/18/2003

The US special envoy for Sudan John Danforth has announced following his meeting with the Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum yesterday that a peace agreement to end the Sudanese civil war will help to pave the way for normalizing relations between Washington and Khartoum.

Following the meeting Danforth said "I came out of the meeting encouraged towards peace. The meeting was positive." The Sudanese peace talks which were held in Kenya under the auspices of IGAD reached an almost blocked road last week. It is expected to be resumed next week.

Danforth said he had received confirmation on the commitment of the Sudanese government to the peace process. He added "if the peace process collapses, it will be the greatest humanitarian crisis. This will not be permitted.. We cannot permit that to happen."

Danforth said "I conveyed a message from President Bush to al-Bashir in which he stresses his commitment to the peace process in Sudan and looking for normalizing of these relations with signing a peace agreement." Worthy mentioning that the US lists Sudan on its terrorism- sponsor list. Relations between the two countries have improved during the past few years.

Meantime, the secretary general of Sudan's liberation movement said that more than 300 Sudanese soldiers were killed yesterday in fighting with the movement in northern Darfour.

Many Arko al-Menawi explained that "302 soldiers in the lines of the government's army were killed whole, 25 were killed in the line of the Sudan's liberation movement in battles that took place yesterday morning to the northern west of Kotom." He added that the movement downed a military helicopter in the area and seized 25 army vehicles." The fighting took place yesterday morning when the movement attacked government forces moving in the area. So far the Sudanese government did not give information about these fighting. Al-Menawi stressed this attack was "a reaction to the army burning of 19 villages in Kotom area on Wednesday.

Previous Stories:
  Powell meets with Garang: the US optimist over end of the civil war   (5/29/2003)
  Powell meets Sudanese counterpart   (5/22/2003)
  Washington stresses support for Sudanese peace negotiations; Khartoum ratifies terrorism- fighting agreements   (5/17/2003)

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