A rebel group operating from Sudan’s Nuba Mountains handed over nine prisoners of war to Khartoum authorities on Thursday after neighbour South Sudan’s mediation, potentially boosting chances for the two sides to reach a final and permanent accord. The nine men who have been in the captivity of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) were handed over to Sudan’s ambassador in South Sudan, Jamal Malik, in South Sudan’s capital Juba. They were captured last month after “heavy battles” in Sudan’s South Kordofan province, and were being released on humanitarian grounds to return to their …