Darfur peace talks collapse

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.