Negotiations between Sudan’s transitional government and a coalition of rebel movements were put on hold indefinitely after a dispute arose about the impartiality of the leader of the delegation from the government.
The rebels took issue with the presence of deputy leader of the Sovereign Transitional Council Mohamad Hamdan Dagalo. Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, leads Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which is accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious human rights abuses in Darfur.
“The movement’s negotiating delegation will remain in Juba, and negotiations will continue on all other tracks in order to reach a comprehensive peace agreement in Sudan,” Tut Qalwak, an advisor to South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and head of mediation, said.
Negotiations between the two sides had just resumed in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, on Thursday after a two-month break.
Rebel groups harbor mistrust towards Dagalo as they still view him as an enemy. Dagalo has denied the accusations leveled against him.
In October last year, the SPLM-N accused the RSF of occupying new areas and attacking and arresting traders.
A decision was made to have the Khartoum delegation continue with Dagalo as its head after a closed-door meeting to assess the situation, the Daily Nation reported.
The Nation, citing a source, added that the Sudanese team was to meet Kiir and brief him on the situation in order to determine the way forward.
South Sudan has been mediating between the Sudanese government and the armed groups from Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions.
The peace talks, which began in South Sudan in October last year, aim to end conflicts in three regions where rebels have fought bloody campaigns against marginalisation by Khartoum under former president Omar al-Bashir.
An end to the country’s multiple conflicts is a key condition for Sudan’s removal from the United States’ sponsors of terrorism list.
