Peace Talks between Sudanese Govt, SPLM Faction Falter

Sudan's Sovereign Council Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok after signing a peace agreement in Juba, South Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
Sudan's Sovereign Council Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok after signing a peace agreement in Juba, South Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
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Peace Talks between Sudanese Govt, SPLM Faction Falter

Sudan's Sovereign Council Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok after signing a peace agreement in Juba, South Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
Sudan's Sovereign Council Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok after signing a peace agreement in Juba, South Sudan. (Reuters file photo)

Differences continue to persist at the Juba peace talks between Sudanese government and Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-N al-Hilu), sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

This has prompted South Sudan to intervene by extending the talks to June 13, in an attempt to bridge the divide.

Both sides resumed on Monday direct talks at the Palm Africa Hotel in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

Member of the Transitional Sovereign Council Lieutenant General Shams El-Din Kabbashi led the government delegation, while the movement’s delegation was headed by its Secretary- General Ammar Amoun. South Sudanese mediator Tut Galwak was also present.

According to informed sources, all issues on the table are still pending, namely the transitional period, the state of the economy and means of reforming judicial and civil service agencies.

Rapporteur of the Southern Sudanese mediation committee, Dr. Dhieu Mathok said the mediation team held talks with relevant parties and decided to review some of the notes submitted on the draft framework agreement.

Both sides have agreed to form a small joint committee to reach a unified draft and common understanding about the security arrangements file.

Many contentious issues regarding the judicial system were “resolved,” affirmed Mathok, noting that one issue remained pending, and a committee was tasked to address it.

Most of the disputed issues revolve around the assessment and follow-up commission, Mathok explained.

Many of the contentious issues, which were included in the draft framework agreement, were resolved in the Declaration of Principles that was signed in March.

The Sudanese government and a major rebel group from its southern Nuba Mountains signed the Declaration of Principles, which paved the way for a final peace agreement by guaranteeing freedom of worship to all while separating religion and the state.

The mediation will not review this declaration, Mathok stressed, urging both sides to abide by it.



Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
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Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)

An Israeli drone strike on Thursday hit a car at an army checkpoint in the southern port city of Sidon, killing three people and wounding several others, including Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers, Lebanon’s state news agency and the army said.

The Lebanese army said in a communique that three soldiers and four Malaysian peacekeepers were injured.

The National News Agency said one of the wounded was taken to the hospital while the peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the attack at the northern entrance of Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest city. There was no immediate information on the identities of those who died.

The UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL said in a statement that a convoy bringing newly-arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing by when a drone strike took place near it. The strike lightly injured five peacekeepers, it said.
“We remind all actors of their obligation to avoid actions putting peacekeepers or civilians in danger. Differences should be resolved at the negotiating table, not through violence,” the statement said.

A drone strike earlier Thursday hit a car on a main highway just outside Beirut, killing one woman, according to local media.

The attack took place near Araya, where several similar drone strikes have taken place in the past week.