Concerns mount over Sudanese peace

WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- Members of the so-called Sudan Troika expressed "serious concern" over the breakdown in talks between Sudanese leaders.

Pagan Amum, secretary-general of the south's Sudan People's Liberation Movement, accused the northern government in Khartoum of backing rebel groups in South Sudan. Talks with Khartoum's National Congress Party are therefore suspended, he added.

The trilateral group of U.S., British and Norwegian delegates urged both parties to take "immediate measures" to control fighters under their influence and return to the negotiating table.

"The members of the Troika express serious concern about the announced suspension of talks between the National Congress Party and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement this weekend," they added in a statement.

A January referendum for an independent South Sudan was part of a comprehensive peace agreement reached in 2005. The 2005 deal ended a brutal civil war in Sudan though post-referendum violence threatens to undo any progress.

The members of the Troika in a statement "strongly" urged both parties to avoid taking actions that would undermine the peace process in Sudan.

"In this sensitive period, it is critical that the NCP and SPLM maintain their dialogue and make further progress toward the creation of sustainable economic, political and security arrangements between the two states," the statement read.