Sudan : Rival Factions Agree To Meet In Saudi Arabia

Warring factions in Sudan have agreed to meet in Saudi Arabia for negotiations to obtain a permanent cease-fire and also put in place an agenda for peace talks. The information was made public on Monday by the United Nations Special representative in Sudan Volker Perthes. The UN envoy told the Associated Press news agency that the talks would focus on establishing a “stable and reliable” ceasefire monitored by national and international observers. He said the two sides had already named their representatives for preliminary discussions but cautioned that logistics for talks were still being worked out. Mr Perthes also said that in the past week he had noticed a “change in tone" from the two warring sides.
Though for now, no date has been put forward for the meeting, clashes are still going on in the capital Khartoum. A string of temporary truces over the past week have eased fighting only in some areas, but in others, fierce battles have continued to drive civilians from their homes and push the country into disaster. Humanitarian groups have been trying to restore the flow of help to a country where nearly a third of the population of 46 million relied on international aid even before the explosion of violence. The U.N. food agency on Monday said it was ending the temporary suspension of its operations in Sudan, put in place after three of its team members were killed in the war-wrecked Darfur region early in the fighting. The World Food Program will resume food distribution in four provinces 
Direct talks, if they take place, would be the first major sign of progress since fighting erupted on April ...