KHARTOUM, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Sunday announced that peace talks with rebels of Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector will resume in February in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.
"The government is trying to reach a declaration on cessation of hostilities and a comprehensive peace," said Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, Sudanese Presidential Assistant and head of government's negotiating delegation.
The negotiations, regarding South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas, would be held during Feb. 3-4 in Addis Ababa, he said. "The talks will start from where the last negotiation sessions ended," he noted.
He further expected the round of talks to result in a deal between the government and the SPLM/northern sector, led by Abdel-Aziz Al-Hilu.
The African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, is supervising the negotiations.
The SPLM/northern sector has recently been suffering from internal divisions which, in July 2017, resulted in the removal of the movement's Chairman Malik Agar and appointment of his former deputy Abdel Aziz al-Hilu in his place.
The SPLM/northern sector has been fighting Khartoum government at South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas since 2011.
Many rounds of peace talks have been held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa between the two sides, but have failed to reach a peace deal regarding the two areas.
