Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has arrived in South Sudan, as negotiators in Ethiopia prepare formal ceasefire talks to end weeks of fighting.

Radio Omdurman said on Sunday that Bashir would meet his southern counterpart, President Salva Kiir, in Juba for talks on the conflict affecting the world's youngest country.
"President Bashir will go to Juba to meet (President) Salva Kiir and discuss the crisis in the South," it announced in an SMS message to media outlets, news agency AFP reported.

Earlier, the foreign ministry spokesman in Khartoum reaffirmed Sudan's wish to see "a continuation of the political process aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict in South Sudan".

He also underlined Sudan's willingness "to offer everything in its power to ensure success of the initiative by IGAD", the East African regional bloc brokering the talks.
The diplomatic effort is aimed at ending three weeks of fighting in South Sudan that has left thousands dead and about 200,000 people displaced.

PHOTO CAPTION

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir speaks during a joint press conference in Khartoum on December 24, 2013

Al-Jazeera