Munir Sheikheddin, the leader of the Sudanese National Party (SNP), has called on Khartoum to accept the SPLA-North’s demand for autonomous rule in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday, Munir said that if the Khartoum government refuses to grant the people of the Two Areas an autonomous system, they would go so far as calling for the right of self-determination from the rest of Sudan.

Munir said autonomous rule is one of the legitimate rights of the people in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

He said rising security sector costs could have utilized to develop the marginalized areas instead of killing innocent people.

“If the self rule will stop the bloodshed, so no objection to that,” he said.

But a former leading member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Ismail Khamis Jalab said the people of the Two Areas have never mandated the SPLM-N to speak on their behalf with regards to an autonomous system.

The former SPLM leader called on the SPLA-North to dispatch its delegates to the grassroots in order to determine what the people want.

“If the people on the ground wanted the self rule then it will be up to them,” he said.

Separately, a source close to the SPLA-N said the negotiations with the Khartoum government on the Two Area resumed yesterday evening in Addis Ababa.