Talks designed to end the ongoing conflict in South Sudan were called off today until the conclusion of a Muslim holiday later this month.

Sudanese foreign minister al-Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed pledged that the talks will resume after Eid al-Adha holiday in Khartoum. “Eid al-Adha holiday will continue for four days. We have decided to resume on 25 August,” he said.

Al-Dirdiri, who is also the chief mediator, said the third round of talks has been extended again for three days, pointing out that there was a sign of a breakthrough. “Talks will continue until 27 August to tackle the remaining issues,” he said.

For his part, South Sudan’s Information Minister Michael Makuei said the peace talks with opposition groups were put on pause until the conclusion of Eid al-Adha holiday later this month.

“Tonight the mediation team has decided to call off the talks on the outstanding issues not because of anything, but because we ran short of time and Eid al-Adha is coming into effect. The mediation has decided to suspend these talks until we resume after Eid al-Adha,” he said.

Talks between the South Sudan parties in Khartoum were initially set to conclude on 19 August in Khartoum.