Keeping my fingers crossed
Sudan, Rebels Seal Accords to End War
In Kenya talks, the two sides resolve issues such as power-sharing that have delayed peace in a 21-year conflict costing over 2 million lives.
From Associated Press
May 27, 2004
NAIVASHA, Kenya ? Sudan's government and rebels signed three key agreements on power-sharing and administration of disputed areas Wednesday, resolving the last issues that were preventing an end to Africa's longest-running war.
All that remains for the government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army to work out is procedural matters to end the 21-year civil war, in which more than 2 million people have died, mostly of war- induced disease and famine.
The accord is unrelated to the conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan, where fighting between the government and rebels has raised fears of "ethnic cleansing."
The signing took place in Naivasha, about 60 miles northwest of Kenya's capital, Nairobi. It could take months to determine whether the diplomatic solution will translate into actual peace.
"We have reached the crest of the last hill in our tortuous ascent to the heights of peace," rebel leader John Garang said after the signing. "There are no more hills ahead of us, the remaining is flat ground."
