Sudan, Darfur rebels sign ceasefire, promise to free war prisoners

KHARTOUM, Sept 4 (AFP) — The Sudanese government and rebels from the western Darfur region announced Thursday a six-week ceasefire, a move that will allow the Khartoum government to focus on peace talks with the southern rebels.

“The government and the Darfur rebels signed a six-week ceasefire in the city of Abeche (Chad)” on Wednesday night, Omdurman state radio said.

The accord requires the “liberation of war prisoners and (those) arrested by the two sides during the conflict,” it added.

The deal was signed by Sudanese General Essmat Abdel Rahman Zenelabdin, commander of the western region, and Abdullah al-Bakr, on behalf of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM).

An SLM spokesman confirmed the signing of the ceasefire.

Speaking to AFP in Cairo by phone, Omar Suleiman said the two sides would kick off negotiations when the truce expired “to attempt to arrive at a comprehensive and durable peace in the region.”

The SLM said Tuesday the ceasefire had been agreed in principle during secret talks over the weekend in Chad to end months of sporadic clashes between government forces and the SLM in Darfur.

The talks in Abeche, 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Sudanese border, were conducted through mediation by Chadian President Idriss Deby and other officials.

Omdurman radio said the parties also agreed to control irregular armed groups and made a commitment to consolidate peace and stability in order to achieve development and prosperity in the area.

The two sides agreed to form a “tripartite committee comprising representatives from the Sudanese government, SLM and the Chadian government to follow up on the implementation of the agreement and to make necessary arrangements in order to go ahead with the negotiations.”

Quoted on the radio, Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said his government was committed to the accord.

The SLM began life as the Darfur Liberation Movement in August 2001 before re-emerging under its current name last February when it began claiming responsibility for a series of anti-government attacks.

The movement has stressed it is not separatist but is seeking to end the marginalization and neglect of the Darfur region by central authorities. It has also accused the Khartoum government of arming Arab tribes in the region to stage attacks on non-Arabs villages.

The SLM is not included in the framework of peace talks aimed at ending Khartoum’s 20-year-old civil war with the southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army.

According to diplomats, the truce will allow the government to focus on talks with the SPLA, due to resume on September 10 in Kenya.

Washington has pressed Khartoum to negotiate with the SPLA in good faith, on threat of sanctions.

Khartoum and the SPLA failed to reach a final agreement during a seventh round of talks last month. It focused on how power and resources should be shared during a coming six-year self-rule period planned for the south.

Under the terms of an accord struck in July 2002, the mainly Christian and animist south is to decide by referendum after the six years whether to secede or remain united with the Arab and Muslim north.