Delay in South Sudan’s peace talks

South Sudan’s talks on the final phase of the peace revitalisation process have been postponed for five days after the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM) filed its observations on outstanding issues too late on Monday.

The mediators had wanted an agreement on the outstanding issues to be signed on Monday but hesitation on the part of the SPLM and their submission at 6pm forced the postponement, the Sudan Tribune reported.

Accordingly, Sudanese Foreign Minister El Dirdeiry Mohamed Ahmed suspended the talks until Saturday because of the Muslim Eid Al Adha holiday. The Sudanese negotiating team is to remain in the capital.

After the signing of the governance deal on August 5, the talks resumed on August 14.

During the first three days, the parties discussed Article 4 on the number of states, the five new ministries and their clusters, judicial reform, the roles in the presidency and the composition of the National Constitutional Review Commission.

The consequential amendments to Chapters III-VIII of the peace agreement on the transitional justice and the constitutional process were not discussed. – ANA