Protesters from the Beja community blocked two crucial oil pipelines
Sudan’s transitional authority has reached an agreement with protesters who had blocked two crucial pipelines in the east and disrupted the flow of oil in and out of the country.
The demonstrators from the Beja community have been protesting for weeks, blocking the pipeline transporting oil exports from landlocked South Sudan and another that handles crude imports into Sudan.
They have been angry about being left out of a peace deal the government signed last year with a number of rebel groups as part of the long-term transition from military to civilian rule in the country.
A delegation from the transitional authority on Sunday held talks with the protesters.
It was followed by a tentative agreement with Beja community elders to allow the passage of oil exports through Bashayer port, the main terminal close to Port Sudan from where exports from South Sudan are shipped.
The Beja elders have said they will need a week, after the tentative agreement, to further discuss the matter.
The government delegation had earlier said they would not leave Port Sudan until the crisis had been resolved.
-BBC
