Government and media sources in Sudan are pointing to growing expectations of a peace deal between the Sudanese government and rebel group SPLM-N, which controls parts of South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.

Following informal talks in Addis Ababa, the Sudanese government delegation reported that they have reacehd “broad understandings” on outstanding issues and hinted at the possibility of the signing of a peace agreement as soon as the end of this month.

Last Wednesday, a closed-door meeting between the Sudanese government delegation and the SPLM-North was held in the Ethiopian capital, in the presence of the head of African Union mediation team, Thabo Mbeki, to brief him on the outcome of the latest direct talks, which were held without the presence of mediators. 

In a report on the negotiations aired on Sudanese Ashrouq Television, the head of the government delegation, Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hammed, and SPLM-N secretary General Yasser Arman, were shown on standing together, chatting and smiling as the station reported on the likelihood of a peace deal between the two sides.

A member of the government negotiating team, Bishara Juma Arur, noted that there have been significant new understandings reached the between two warring parties after the meeting in the Ethiopian capital.

“The African mediators and UN envoy were surprised by the outcome of informal talks, and after the two sides built a strong confidence between them,” he said.

SPLM-N and the Sudanese government have been fighting each other since 2011. The Sudanese government earlier this year announced a ceasefire as a sign of goodwill and invited the SPLM-N to participate in a 'National Dialogue' in the capital Khartoum. 

File photo: Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud