Khartoum, Garang resume negotiations in mid July

An official in the Sudanese People's Liberation Army led by Col. John Garang on Thursday in Nairobi announced that negotiations between the southern rebels and the Sudanese government will resume on July 19 in the Kenyan capital.

The source, which preferred not to be identified, said this round of talks will continue until July 24.

The resumption of talks was also announced on Thursday morning in Khartoum by Nafe Ali Nafe, an advisor to the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who was quoted by the Sudanese papers as saying that peace negotiations "will be resumed in July in Nairobi at a proposal of the Government Commission for Development."

Nafe said he expected that "a great success" will be attained in the coming negotiations, which aim at suspending the civil war taking place in Sudan since 1983.

The Sudanese official attributed his optimism to "positive developments."