Sudan, rebels peace talks collapse again

The negotiations between the Sudanese government and the rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-Northern sector have once again failed.

The mediation and negotiation parties on Monday said a breakthrough was yet to be reached.

The eighth round of the talks between the government and SPLM-N begun last week in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

The negotiations are aimed at ending the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states where the government has been battling the rebels.

The chief of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki told the press in Addis on Monday evening that the negotiations had been suspended.

Mr Mbeki did not mention the obstacles that led to the suspension, however, he confirmed that the mediation team has given the two parties more time for consultations. He did not give a date for the next round of talks.