Sudanese defense minister heads for Kenya to discuss arrangements for transitional period
Sudan, Politics, 9/11/2003

Sudan's defense minister Lt. Gen. Bakri Hassan Saleh, accompanied by a delegation representing senior military officials headed for Kenya to join the lengthy peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebels.

The Sudanese news agency said that the sudden mission of the defense minister comes to take part in the security and military arrangements concerning the transitional period in Sudan with the expectations to sign a peace agreement to end the civil war.

However, the Sudanese government had asked chief editors of the Sudanese papers in Sudan to head to Kenya in order to cover "the big event," expected there. The Sudanese Vice President Ali Othman Taha and leader of the rebels John Garang are making bilateral talks since last Thursday.

A member in the mediation delegation said that the "defense ministers and other senior military officials arrived to reinforce the government's delegation when security problems are discussed."

Meantime, a Sudanese official admitted yesterday that a plane for the Sudanese army killed 26 civilians in western Sudan in August after it thought it was bombarding positions for the rebels in Dar Four. The governor of the province Suleiman Abdullah told the Sudanese daily al-Ayam that the defense minister formed a committee to investigate the matter.

The Sudanese government announced it had decided to pay compensations for the families of the victims which also injured 32 persons. A source stressed that the first payment of the compensations was funded.

At the mediation of Chad, the Sudanese government signed a provisional agreement to cease fire for 6 weeks with Dar Four rebels that has came to force on September 6th, but the rebels accused the Sudanese forces of violating the truce last week.

Previous Stories:
  Sudanese FM expects a breakthrough; Kenya: Taha, Garang achieved 'tremendous progress"'   (9/9/2003)
  Ali Othman, Garang resume their talks in friendly atmospheres   (9/6/2003)
  Decisive meeting between Garang and Sudanese vice president   (9/5/2003)

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