KHARTOUM (Reuters):

Sudan's government and former southern rebels are stuck in a political stalemate that could undermine security across the horn of Africa, a senior official said yesterday.

Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed a peace deal in 2005, ending Africa's longest civil war. But worsening relations between the two sides reached crisis point in October when the SPLM pulled its ministers out of the coalition government, accusing Khartoum of stalling on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

"Now they are stuck. It's a stalemate," said Tom Vraalsen, the departing chairman of the international body set up to assess the implementation of the comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

"I am disappointed at where we are today. I thought that the parties would be much further down the road in implementing the peace agreement ... I had hoped for much more," Vraalsen told Reuters.

Vraalsen is due to leave Sudan on Tuesday after a two-year contract as chairman of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission, set up as part of the peace deal to monitor its progress.

Barred from speaking

While Vraalsen was working, the terms of his contract barred him from commenting publicly on how the peace deal was progressing. The former commission chairman said he felt he could speak in a personal capacity now that his time in the country was almost over.

The government and the SPLM remained stuck on a list of core issues relating to security, politics and economics. "There are very important parts of the CPA which are not implemented and where they are seriously behind in implementation."

The most serious stumbling block was the status of the central oil-rich Abyei region. Others included delays in redeploying northern and southern troops behind their respective borders and in planning for a promised census and elections.

"I think there is real interest in peace," said Vraalsen. "But they both want peace on their terms. Here you are dealing with two parties that have been at war politically and militarily for twenty years plus. For the two to build the necessary confidence and trust, it is not all easy."