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Darfur peace talks collapse
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Darfur peace talks collapse
Addis Ababa (dpa) - Talks aimed at resolving the conflict in Darfur ended in failure Saturday after the two rebel groups walked out accusing the government of not respecting the four-month-old ceasefire agreement.
The Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) ended negotiations after a marathon session of talks Friday and Saturday, mediated by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations.
AU and U.N. mediators speaking to the press following the talks collapse said they were nonetheless determined to bring all sides to the negotiating table again through "confidence-building measures".
"Without confidence, we cannot continue with the talks," said U.N. special envoy Mohammed Sahnoun.
However SLM and JEM representatives made it clear that clear steps needed to be taken by the Sudanese government before any comprehensive peace deal could be struck.
"This is the end of the talks for us, and we've made it clear to the mediators that we're available for consultations with them until tomorrow (Sunday) if the other side agrees to honour the provisions of the ceasefire agreement, and begins disarming the Janjaweed militia in the shortest time possible," Adam Ali Shogar, coordinator of the SLM said shortly after negotiations were initially suspended.
The government side, led by Sudanese Agriculture Minister, had informed the mediators during separate consultations Friday that that the government could not give a definite time limit for disarming armed groups operating in Darfur, including militias other than the Janjaweed.
The government claimed however it was fulfilling other provisions of the ceasefire agreement, including facilitating access of humanitarian assistance, and the release of political prisoners.
Both rebel groups hail from the black African population of the Darfur region of western Sudan, an area larger than France for years riven by tensions between the black African and Arab populations.
An escalation in the conflict over recent months has seen up to 30,000 people killed and around 1.2 million forced from their homes by government-backed Arab Janjaweed militias. The situation has been described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Both the SLM and the JEM accuse Khartoum of failing to control the Janjaweed, which they say are still engaged in a campaign of intimidation against the civilian population.
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