Addis Ababa (AFP) - Peace talks aimed at ending 15 month of civil war in South Sudan appeared stalemated on Thursday with hours to go before a regionally-imposed deadline for a deal expires.
Hopes of an agreement were dealt another blow as President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar pulled out of their discussions, promising to reconvene mid-afternoon.
"We are working very hard to meet the deadline, but there are still a number of remaining issues," a diplomat involved in the negotiations told AFP. "There's still a lot of hard work to do."
A deadline imposed by the east African regional bloc IGAD, which is mediating the talks, expires at midnight.
The latest round of negotiations has gone badly from the start. Kiir and Machar shunned the opening of talks on February 23, only met directly for the first time on Tuesday and broke off talks on Thursday.
"The two principles will meet again this afternoon after separate meetings with the mediators," said an IGAD spokesman.
IGAD chief mediator Seyoum Mesfin called this -- the eighth round of talks -- the "last chance" for ending the conflict and diplomats insist there will be no extension of the deadline.
"Doing that would undermine the current talks," said one diplomat. "We are focusing on reaching an agreement today."
A failure to reach a deal could see diplomats push for sanctions.
South Sudan's war began in December 2013 when Kiir accused Machar, his former deputy, of planning a coup. Fighting quickly turned ethnic with Dinka soldiers loyal to Kiir accused of massacring members of Machar's Nuer tribe in the capital Juba. The violence spread and has been characterised by tit-for-tat ethnic murder, rape, pillage and the widespread use of child soldiers.
Tens of thousands have been killed and two million uprooted by fighting.
Peace talks were convened by IGAD within weeks of the outbreak of civil war but have only achieved a string of failed ceasefires and broken promises.
In a bid to force a deal the United Nations this week passed a resolution that will allow the imposing of sanctions on individuals deemed to be undermining peace efforts.
Source http://news.yahoo.com/south-sudan-stalemate-ahead-peace-talks-deadline-104702324.html
Newer articles:
- S Sudan talks failure's unacceptable - 06/03/2015 16:25
- South Sudan peace talks collapse - 06/03/2015 15:45
- South Sudan peace talks break up without deal - 06/03/2015 15:35
- Exclusive: Bar South Sudan leaders from transition - inquiry draft - 05/03/2015 19:11
- South Sudan peace talks to extend to Friday - 05/03/2015 18:15
Older news items
- South Sudan: UN Sanctions Threat Hampers Peace Talks - Govt - 05/03/2015 07:54
- Soaked in oil: The cost of war in South Sudan - 04/03/2015 12:51
- South Sudan hits out at UN sanctions - 04/03/2015 11:51
- Sanctions threat an obstacle to peace, says South Sudan - 04/03/2015 07:31
- China urges parties in South Sudan to stop fighting, form transitional govt - 04/03/2015 02:11
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ Continues – Analysis - 01/12/2024 17:47
- South Sudan secured over 282 150 doses of oral cholera vaccine to contain the cholera outbreak - 01/12/2024 17:43
- The idea of one nation and one people is a distortion of our reality!!! - 29/11/2024 12:54
- In South Sudan with aid boss John Rynne: 'The maps drawn in colonial times are starting to erode' - 29/11/2024 12:47
- 'They have nothing': Aid workers struggle to save lives at edge of war-torn Sudan - 29/11/2024 12:36
Random articles (all categories):
- Sudan: From troublemaker to peacemaker? - 14/10/2018 07:20
- South Sudan: The Cost of Inaction (As of May 2021) - 07/05/2021 07:50
- SouthSudanese/US Man Who Went to See Family in Ethiopia Dies Months after Visit - 25/11/2021 21:39
- A MESSAGE ON THE 2OTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GLORIOUS NASIR DECLARATION - 28/08/2011 01:00
- Oh! Mother Africa, Why is there only one children's hospital in the Republic of South Sudan? - 06/01/2020 05:17
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 58299 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22212 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21350 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 18861 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 17966 times