Sudan rebel groups sign AU-brokered peace roadmap

Prominent Sudanese rebel groups said today they have signed a roadmap brokered by African Union mediators to end deadly conflicts in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced over the years in the three regions as ethnic minority groups rebelled against President Omar al-Bashir's Arab-dominated government.
When Khartoum representatives signed the roadmap at a previous round of talks in March in Addis Ababa, prominent rebel groups refused to do so.
But yesterday three of these groups -- the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA-Minnawi) -- signed it in the Ethiopian capital.

Another faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, the SLA-AW, has yet to come on board.
"The top priority is to stop the wars and deliver humanitarian aid to people affected," Sudan Call, a Sudanese group comprising rebel movements and opposition political parties, said in a statement today.

"The Sudanese people look forward to a comprehensive peace process."
The roadmap paves the way for a permanent ceasefire to be negotiated and ways for humanitarian aid to be delivered to the three areas.
While Khartoum says that the conflict in Darfur that erupted in 2003 has already ended, neither the government forces nor rebels have gained a decisive upper hand in Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

"What happened yesterday is a positive step on the road to a comprehensive and peaceful solution to the Sudan crisis," the spokesman for the Justice and Equality Movement told AFP today.
"We will now start direct negotiations for a ceasefire in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile," Jibril Bilal said, referring to the talks expected to get under way Tuesday in Addis Ababa.
Bilal said a ceasefire will help "bring security to these three areas and also help deliver humanitarian aid to civilians" there.