Inter- Sudanese peace talks resume; al-Turabi: US pressure does not guarantee peace

Peace talks resumed yesterday between the Sudanese government and the southern rebels, as the leader of the opposition Sudanese People's Congress Hassan al-Turabi considered that the American pressure on Sudan to end the war with the rebels had brought the two sides together towards peace but is not enough to make the agreement a guarantee of peace and valid.

Chairman of the mediators team, the retired Kenyan general Lazaraos Simbayo said that "talks resumed and we do hope for reaching a peace agreement this time."

Following the talks of the inauguration ceremony, the Kenyan foreign minister held consultations with the Sudanese Vice President Ali Othman Taha who presides over the governmental delegation and the leader if the southern rebels, John Garang. The talks are presumed to end on March 16. These talks were suspended by the end of January during al-Haj religious period, and the two sides agreed in previous rounds on security arrangements and sharing the wealth during the provisional period. The two sides will discuss the fate of three areas under dispute, in addition to the status of the capital, and the composition of the administration in the provisional phase.

The spokesman for the rebels Yasser Araman said "we are ready to reach a comprehensive settlement which we consider that the time is proper for solving the remaining issues.. which we do not think are more difficult than the issues of security and wealth sharing (that were solved)."