JUBA, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Sudan Transitional Sovereign Council led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan commenced talks with the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Thursday, with the aim of opening humanitarian corridors amid ongoing conflict.
SPLM-N Secretary-General Amar Amoun Deldoum said they are negotiating with the Sudanese governing body to allow humanitarian aid to reach conflict-affected people in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Western Kordofan States, which are under control of the movement.
"We are here today to launch a negotiation session to sign a document that facilitates the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the needy people," Deldoum told reporters.
He also noted that the agreement would include providing humanitarian assistance to the population in the Nuba Mountain region, Khartoum, Gezira region, and Darfur region, where deadly fighting is ongoing between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) led by Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Yassin Ibrahim Yassin, Sudan's minister of defense and head of the government's technical team, said the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance is contingent on all warring parties ceasing hostilities.
"We need a cessation of hostilities to deliver humanitarian assistance and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in conflict-affected areas, both in government-controlled and opposition-controlled areas," Ibrahim said.
In October 2020, the SPLM-N refused to sign the peace deal between the Sudanese government and five other armed opposition groups in Juba, demanding a democratic and secular state with freedom of religion. ■
