The Sudan Transitional Sovereign Council under Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Thursday commenced talks with the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Juba, the capital of South Sudan aimed at opening up humanitarian corridor amid ongoing conflict.

Amar Amoun Deldoum, the Secretary General for SPLM-N said they are holding negotiation with the Sudan Transitional Council to allow humanitarian aid to reach conflict affected people in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Western Kordofan States where the group controls.

“We are here today to launch a negotiation session in order to sign a document that facilitates the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the needy people in South Kordofan State, Blue Nile State and Western Kordofan,” Deldoum told journalists.

 He also noted that the agreement would also include provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in the Nuba Mountain region, Khartoum, Gezira region and Darfur region, where deadly fighting is ongoing between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) under Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Yassin Ibrahim Yassin, Sudan’s minister of defense and also head of the government’s technical team, said the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance depends first on all warring parties ceasing hostilities.

 “We need cessation of hostilities in order to deliver humanitarian assistance to alleviate humanitarian crisis in conflict -affected areas both in government and opposition controlled areas,” Ibrahim said.

Dhieu Mathok Diing Wol, South Sudan’s minister of investment and secretary for the mediation committee, said that any agreement on humanitarian access between the two sides would also result in them negotiating their political differences.

Wol revealed that the deputy general commander of the SAF and head of the Sudan government delegation, Shams-Edin Kabashi and the chairperson for the SPLM-North, Abdel Aziz Adam Al-Hilu recently agreed to open up humanitarian access to the needy people in Nuba Mountain, Blue Nile and other affected areas.

“We are aiming at signing a document, we are going to discuss on how humanitarian access should be addressed in conflict affected areas, around 600,000 people affected by conflict need humanitarian assistance urgently,” he said.

In October 2020, the SPLM-N refused to sign the peace deal between the Sudan government and five other armed oppositions in Juba as it demanded a democratic and secular state with freedom of religion.