New talks between Sudanese government and rebels; al-Khartou: no backing away from peace

In its 7th current round, the peace process in Sudan has entered a critical phase since the signing of Mashakos agreement in 2002, with the resumption of the negotiations between the Sudanese government and the rebels.

It is evident that the general atmosphere in this round is tense because of the government's position which announced its rejection of the recent IGAD's document in the 6th round and the rebels attachment to it.

Experts warned against the failure in this round which will be conducive, in turn, to the collapse of the talks.

Member of the negotiation Sudanese delegation, Amin Hassan Omar, renewed the government's rejection to the proposals provided by mediators from IGAD for the previous round of talks. He stressed that this round will not be the last to reach a final agreement.

In Khartoum, the Sudanese Vice President Ali Othman Muhammad Taha stressed Sudan's commitment to peace as a strategic option. He added that the executive political authority and the national forces expressed the government's position to rejecting the "Nakoro" document.

On the other hand, the spokesman for the rebels movement Yasser Araman said that the movement will not give up its position and will not accept debating a new document in the current round and that the movement's position complies with IGAD's delegates.

The Sudanese minister of information al-Zahawi Malik indicated that the meeting of the Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with some 100 figures representing various Sudanese opposition parties and organizations aimed at creating a national consensus amid critical pressures on the Sudanese peace talks with the rebels.