South Sudanese rebel leader meets al-Bashir on peaceful settlement

Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir held talks with Riek Machar, head of rebels in South Sudan, in Khartoum Sunday over the IGAD-sponsored peaceful settlement for the conflict which has been ongoing in South Sudan since last December.
Machar, who was a former South Sudanese Vice-President, told reporters after the meeting his visit to Sudan was part of a tour to countries of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), including Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia.
He said he briefed Al-Bashir on pace of negotiations between the conflicting parties that took place in Addis Ababa.
Machar said IGAD gave the negotiators 60 days to reach a peaceful solution for the conflict, and the period would expire by end of today.
"The negotiations are stmubling and include many problems. However we have agreed on the agenda and hope to achieve a progress and peaceful solutions that end the fighting," added Machar.
He said his meeting with Al-Bashir was quite important because the Sudanese leader was a president of the big Sudan before the separation of South Sudan.
The conflict between Machar and South Sudanese President Silva Kiir broke out in the middle of last December, and killed more than 1,000 people and displaced over two million others.
The two parties signed a ceasefire agreement last May but it collapsed very quickly.