The Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-North) rebel group says they have received an invitation from the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to attend consultative talks with the Sudanese government in Addis Ababa.

Following the breakdown of the most recent negotiations in Berlin, the African Union Peace and Security Council called on the two sides to continue negotiating.

The dates for the new talks is from 16 to 18 March.

In a statement seen by Radio Tamazuj, the SPLA-North group said the invitation from the African Union mediators was also extended to the government, the National Umma Party (NUP), and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) as well as the Sudan Liberation Army faction of Minni Arko Minnawi.

The SPLA-North welcomed the consultative meeting, saying it is an opportunity for a unified position of the "Sudan Appeal" group.

Separately, the rebel group also claimed that their forces repulsed an attack by the government forces in South Kordofan. Radio Tamazuj could not reach officials in Khartoum to comment on the matter but in separate press reports the army spokesman denied having launched any attacks but said SPLA-N had been shelling its base in Abray in South Kordofan and later attacked the site but were repulsed.

File photo: Members of Sudan's opposition in Addis Ababa, 24 August 2015 (Sudan Appeal)