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US Envoy to Sudan Lays Out Long Path to New Government

Anita Powell

   JOHANNESBURG - Sudan's path to a civilian government will be a long and
   complex one, says the United States' top envoy to the nation, a week
   after military rulers and opposition parties inked an agreement that
   outlined a three-year power-sharing government.
   That agreement follows seven months of political protests, the ouster
   of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir, and many rounds of negotiations
   involving power players in the oil-rich nation.

   But there is much, much more work to be done, says Donald Booth, the
   U.S. special envoy to Sudan. Since being appointed to the post six
   weeks ago, Booth has shuttled to negotiations in Khartoum, Brussels and
   Addis Ababa, where different sides are trying to present their concerns
   and visions for a new Sudan.

   In a conference call from Brussels on Tuesday, Booth pointed out the
   agreement left key details to be negotiated.

   "We welcomed the agreement on that, but there are still a lot of
   negotiations to be conducted on what the Sudanese are calling their
   constitutional declaration, which is a document that will be more
   detailed and will have to address what the functions of the different
   parts of the transitional government will be," Booth said.