KHARTOUM, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Major parties participating in the ongoing round of peace talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups expect the current round would witness a positive breakthrough that paves the way to end the region's crisis.
Sudan Radio on Friday quoted Amin Hassan Omer, chief negotiator in the Sudanese government delegation, as saying that the security arrangements file in the current negotiations in Addis Ababa is progressing "in an excellent manner."
He expected the current round to end with the signing of cessation of hostilities.
He said the consultations between the two delegations focused on continuing the negotiations on cease-fire and cessation of hostilities by bringing the movements on board the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur signed in 2011.
"The atmosphere is good and the process is progressing in a serious manner amid positive steps on the part of the negotiating parties," he said.
Meanwhile, media reports indicated possibility of extending the negotiations between the Sudanese government and the armed groups in Addis Ababa if the talks achieve tangible progress.
Sudan Tribune quoted Mahmoud Kan, chairman of the African Union (AU) liaison office in Khartoum, as saying that "the talks will continue until Saturday and could be extended if the parties are making progress in the process."
Ahmed Tugud, chief negotiator of the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement, said "we held three sessions on Friday focusing on results and specifying the points of difference, and then we discussed a point of difference on the part of the Sudanese side regarding the monitoring mechanisms on the ground," Sudan Tribune reported.
He said the movements proposed establishment of a new mechanism to conduct an oversight job, noting that the government insisted the current mechanisms are capable of finishing that task.
The talks between the government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector on the Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas continued on Friday.
The negotiations between the two parties have witnessed a stuttering start amid exchanged accusations regarding the withdrawal of the government delegation from the talks on Thursday before returning again following a meeting with the head of the AU mediation Thabo Mbeki.
The two sides have not agreed on any framework agreement for the talks yet despite their endorsement of about 80 percent of the issues under negotiations.
Before the negotiations, the opposition Sudan Call, an alliance bringing together Sudanese armed groups and opposition parties, sign an AU-proposed road-map in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The road-map deal was signed by the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan Liberation Movement, the SPLM/northern sector and the Sudanese opposition National Umma Party in the presence of AU representatives.
In March 2016, the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan proposed a road-map agreement for the Sudanese rivals aiming at ending the war in Sudan.
This road-map stipulates arrangements related to cease-fire at South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur regions, entering a peace process and involving the armed movements in the national dialogue currently convened in Khartoum.
