Sudan, rebels to meet in Bern

The Sudanese government announced on Sunday that it had received an invitation to make talks with the rebels in Switzerland. Simultaneously, the US special envoy John Danforth arrived in Khartoum on Sunday evening.

The Sudanese presidential advisor Ghazi Salah Eddine al-Atabani said that representatives for the two sides will hold direct meetings in Switzerland's capital, Bern, this week under the auspices of the US.

Al-Atabani added that the two sides will discuss an American proposal to cease fire between them, stressing that the leader of the rebellion col. John Garang is concerned with war rather than peace, noting that Garang alliance with Rayak Mashar group will lead to the escalation of fighting in southern Sudan.

On the other hand, the Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Othman Ismael said on Monday that the Sudanese government pins great hope on Danforth's mission.