Sudan’s Minister of Information Ahmed Bilal Osman says they have not received any invitation from the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to attend consultative talks with the SPLA-North, National Umma Party (NUP) and Darfuri rebels in Addis Ababa.

Speaking to the Sudanese Media Centre (SMC) on Wednesday, Bilal said the government is ready to attend consultative talks if they receive a letter of invitation from the African mediation.

Earlier this week, the Sudan people’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-North) announced in a statement that they had received the invitation from the African Union mediators to attend consultative talks with the Khartoum government in Addis Ababa.

The rebel group further said the invitation 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 dates for the new talks are from 16 to 18 March.

File photo: AUHIP Chairman Thabo Mbeki (right)