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Decades of civil war ends

A NEW DAWN: Holding a People's Liberation Army flag, Sudanese celebrate the signing of peace accords between the Government and the rebels, in Naivasha, Kenya, on Wednesday. -- AP

NAIVASHA (KENYA), MAY 27. Sudan's Government and the main rebel group have signed several accords crucial to ending 21 years of devastating civil war in the south of the vast country.

The three protocols signed by Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army on Wednesday on power-sharing and the administration of three disputed regions cap two years of intense political negotiations in Kenya.

Following their signature, the technical and military aspects of a ceasefire are the only remaining obstacles to a comprehensive peace accord to end Africa's longest-running conflict. These negotiations do not, however, cover the crisis in Sudan's western region of Darfur, where a more recent conflict has left hundreds of thousands of people at risk of starvation in what the United Nations has decried as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Nevertheless, the signing, which took place at a lakeside hotel near the western Kenyan town of Naivasha, prompted a cacophony of cheers and ululations from hundreds of Sudanese refugees.

Hours after the adversaries signed the agreements, mediators consulted with the Sudanese Government and the southern rebels to plan the final phase of talks. In Wednesday's protocols, they agreed that the Sudanese President, Omar el-Bashir, will remain head of state during the interim period, while the rebel leader, John Garang, will become Vice-President.

AP

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