Khartoum — Juba has renewed its willingness to facilitate negotiated settlement to the ongoing conflict between Khartoum and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement -North. Also the two capitales postponed a security meeting once again.
South Sudanese Ambassador to Khartoum Dut Mayen informed Wednesday, Sudanese presidential assistant Abdel-Rahman Sadiq Al-Mahdi who is tasked with relations between the two countries that South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayadrit has the sincere desire to facilitate a solution for the conflict with the SPLM-N rebels.
He pointed out that that South Kordofan state where the rebel fight against the Sudanese army represents the largest border with South Sudan, and the settlement of this crisis will enhance the security of both countries.
South Sudanese president had already informed his Sudanese counterpart already of his readiness to undertake this demarche during a meeting held in Addis Ababa on 14 July.
Sudanese government negotiating team said they would start peace talks with the SPLM-N once Juba disengage its relation with the rebel who were part of its army during the past years before the independence.
The rebels said they control 40% of the border with South Sudan and demand to be included in a security deal signed between the two countries providing to establish a buffer zone on te common border.
Speaking to the press following the meeting, Mayen said Kiir is ready to play any role that can contribute to end the crisis. He further said that Al-Mahdi welcomed the idea.
The SPLM-N rebels said they shelled the capital of South Kordofan Kadugli again on Tuesday evening stressing that the army bombed their positions on the same day after a mortar attack carried on the town on Monday where six civilians were killed.
A witness on Wednesday told the Agence France Presse that a child was wounded during the shelling.
Kadugli commissioner Abu Al-Bashar Abdel Gadir Hussein said the army shelled the rebel positions on Tuesday evening adding that the government did not want to deal with the them during the consultative peace conference there.
DELAY OF SECURITY MEETING
Sudanese defence ministers from both sides were expected to meet Wednesday in Khartoum to discuss technical aspects pertaining to the implementation of security arrangements they signed recently.
Mayen told reporters that there was some "involuntary confusion" that caused the delay of the meeting without further details.
He said that another date would be fixed soon for the meeting, pointing out that the Sudanese minister Abdel-Rahim Hussein will visit Juba soon.
Initially Hussein had to travel to Juba last Saturday but he proposed to his South Sudanese counterpart to transfer the meeting to Khartoum and it had been announced the two sides agreed to meet on Wednesday.
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