Sudanese Defense Minister died during peace talks with rebels

Sudanese Defense Minister Lieutenant General Jamal al-Din Omar died of an unspecified illness Wednesday while in neighboring South Sudan for peace talks with his country’s main rebel groups, the military announced.

Omar had “suffered from a number of chronic illnesses,” armed forces spokesman Amer Mohamed al-Hassan said without elaborating.

The government delegation in the South Sudanese capital Juba said Omar died at 2:30 am “after a sudden heart attack during the performance of his sacred duty”.

Since October, Sudan’s transitional government has been locked in talks with rebel groups that fought Bashir’s regime in the vast western region of Darfur and in the southern border states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

Omar said on Monday that he was confident the two sides would sign a deal to form a “national army”, state media reported.

About Khalid Al Mouahidi 4457 Articles
Khalid Al Mouahidi : A binational from the US and Morocco, Khalid El Mouahidi has worked for several american companies in the Maghreb Region and is currently based in Casablanca, where he is doing consulting jobs for major international companies . Khalid writes analytical pieces about economic ties between the Maghreb and the Mena Region, where he has an extensive network