Darfur rebel figure wants to join peace talks

September 21, 2007 (LIBREVILLE) — A top Darfur rebel confined to a hospital by the Sudanese government for the past year was released by Khartoum and wishes to participate in the upcoming peace negotiations, he told AFP Friday.

“The agreement (for my release) was made by the Sudanese authorities and the United Nations for medical reasons,” said Jamous via telephone in N’Djamena.

“I hope to take up my role again” as humanitarian coordinator for the rebels, “and take part in peace negotiations. But this depends on the decision of the rebel groups,” he added.

Negotiations between the Darfur rebels and the Khartoum government are expected to start on October 27 in Libya, but all the armed groups have yet to confirm they will take part.

Jamous, considered a key figure in the rebellion, formerly worked as coordinator to distribute humanitarian aid to the people of Darfur, a region in western Sudan in civil war since February 2003.

He is considered by the African Union as a possible “facilitator in the mediation”, and many calls were made to secure his release.

Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir assured UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier this month that he would let Jamous leave the country to get medical attention abroad.

Meanwhile, rebel factions gathered in N’Djamena to prepare a common platform for next month’s peace talks adjourned their discussions Friday until early October, the African Union mediators told AFP.

(AFP)