Posted on 07/06/2003 8:02:09 AM PDT by knighthawk
NAIROBI: The Sudanese government and rebels fighting a 20-year-old civil war resumed peace talks on Sunday, with negotiations focusing on the sharing of power and wealth, the lead mediator said.
The talks between the government of President Omar el-Bashir and the Sudan People's Liberation Army in the Kenyan town of Nakuru, 135 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, will last one week, said Kenyan Gen. Lazaro Sumbeiywo.
The talks began almost a year ago and are aimed at ending the conflict in which an estimated 2 million people have died, mainly through war-induced famine and disease.
Despite agreeing to the basics of power and wealth sharing, the Sudanese government and rebels have been unable to agree on the distribution of resources, notably revenue from oil fields the rebels claim are in their territory, and the allocation of positions in the transitional administration.
The latest war in Sudan broke out in 1983 when southern rebels took up arms against the predominantly Arab and Muslim northern government in a bid to obtain greater autonomy for the largely animist and Christian south.
Although often simplified as a religious war, the conflict is also fuelled by competition for oil, land and other resources.
In July, the two sides signed a protocol providing for the separation of state and religion in southern Sudan and a referendum on self-determination for the war-ravaged south after a six year transitional period.
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