Thabo Mbeki, former president of South African and chief mediator of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) for Sudan, was expected to arrive in Damazin in Sudan’s Blue Nile State on Wednesday.

The purpose of the visit is said to be an assessment of the situation of war-affected people before the start of the next round of talks in mid-May in Addis Ababa.

Negotiations between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North were scheduled to resume on 15 May. The last round of talks was suspended when the mediation failed to bridge the positions of the two factions on an agenda for the talks.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj yesterday, Dr. Farah Agar, a member of SPLA-N negotiating team at the peace talks, confirmed the planned visit of the AUHIP to the state, saying Mbeki at that point had not yet arrived.

According to Agar, the AU chief mediator will also pay a similar visit to South Kordofan State.

"Mbeki’s  visit will pave the way for the next round of negotiations on the humanitarian file in particular – the visit  will also look at humanitarian access," he explained.

The former president of South Africa and chair of the AUHIP is expected to engage not only political forces but also civil society in the state in meetings on the upcoming national reconciliation and dialogue initiative, according Agar.

He further revealed that the visit came in response to a proposal by the SPLA-N negotiating team to the mediation during the last suspended round of peace talks.

Agar noted that Blue Nile remains under a state of emergency, which will make it difficult for the local residents in the government-controlled areas to express their views openly to Mbeki.