Inter- Sudanese peace talks resumed on Saturday in Kenya

The inter governmental commission for development "IGAD" yesterday announced that the Sudanese government and the southern rebels will start today the fifth round of peace talks which aim at ending decades of civil war in Sudan.

One official at IGAD's secretariat said that the "talks inaugural session between the government and the people's army for the liberation of Sudan (SPLA) will start today morning in Mashakos city to the East of Kenya." The official said that the "main issues which will be debated in the talks to be headed by IGAD's chief negotiator Lazaro Sombyou will be: the sharing of resources and security arrangements." The spokesman for the rebels, Yasser Araman, said on Wednesday that among other issues to be negotiated are the oil revenues, the central bank and the Sudanese currency.

This meeting, however, comes after three days of separate consultations between the Sudanese governments and delegations of the souther rebels with IGAD's mediators, that have been held in Nairobi since Wednesday.

A protocol signed in July stated a 6- year self- rule for the southern areas which are controlled by the rebels before making a referendum on the political future of the region.

Since 1983, Sudan has been witnessing a civil war between the Sudanese government which represents the northern area inhabited mostly by Muslims and the rebels, with the southern areas as a headquarters inhabited by the majority of Christians and seculars.

Estimates indicate that the conflict resulted in the killing of 1.5 million person and displacing of 4 million since 1983. A cease fire agreement was signed in Mashakos in October 2002.