Nairobi - The Sudanese government and southern rebels agreed yesterday after three days of peace talks in Nairobi on a referendum for "unity or outright secession" of the south, but key issues remained unresolved. "Some significant progress has been made but not such as we would have wanted," the Kenyan Foreign Minister, Mr Bonaya Godana, said. Mr Godana chaired the talks between the Khartoum government delegation and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
Both sides, in a post-talks press conferences, announced continuing battles, with the SPLA claiming the capture of the garrison town of Wadega in the southern Blue Nile state. The SPLA turned down a government offer of a ceasefire, saying it should not be linked to humanitarian assistance to the hundreds of thousands of people from the south at risk from famine. The two sides agreed to hold an internationally supervised referendum on unity or secession for the south after an interim period, but set no date for it, a final communique said.