ASMARA, Oct 14: Eastern rebels and the government of Sudan signed an agreement on Saturday to end a decade of low-level revolt in a region rich in natural resources but beset by poverty.

The agreement was signed in the Eritrean capital Asmara by Sudanese presidential advisor Mustafa Osman Ismail and the head of the rebel Eastern Front delegation Musa Mohammed Ahmed.

Ismail called the deal “a new dawn” and a “road map to stability and development in the east”.

Ahmed said: “Our priorities will be rebuilding the east in complete transparency.”

The agreement, which sparked singing and dancing after it was signed, is the third peace deal Khartoum has negotiated in less then two years.

Sudan’s east hosts its largest gold mine, diamond resources and its only port, Port Sudan, where its main oil pipelines feed exports to the outside world. But it is also a deeply impoverished region.

“Eastern Sudan is the most marginalised area in Sudan and by signing this agreement there is admission and recognition of this fact,” said Yasir Arman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.—Reuters