West Sudan rebels agree to face-to-face aid talks

By Opheera McDoom and Tom Perry

CAIRO, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Rebels from Sudan’s remote western Darfur region said on Tuesday they would attend talks to allow aid distribution in the troubled area, where relief agencies say a humanitarian disaster is unfolding.

The talks, proposed by a Geneva-based peace group, the Henry Dunant centre, aim to negotiate a deal to allow agencies to get much-needed humanitarian aid to the million or more people affected by an escalating conflict in Darfur.

Two main rebel groups launched the Darfur uprising a year ago accusing the Khartoum government of marginalising the poor region. Fighting intensified after talks with one group collapsed in December with both sides blaming each other.

The United Nations said it was calling for a humanitarian ceasefire — a break in fighting to send aid to those internally displaced within the three Darfur states. Aid agencies say the area is too dangerous to send staff out of the state capitals.

“We have the stocks to give food, shelter and medicine. It’s just access that is the problem,” said U.N. official Ben Parker.

But the Dunant centre said there were alternatives to a ceasefire like a “conflict pause” or safe-passage guarantees.

The Geneva talks on February 14-15 would be the first face to face meeting between both rebel groups and the government. Analysts hope they could lead to a possible framework for peace talks as political issues would inevitably be broached.

POLITICAL ISSUES

One rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), said a ceasefire was a political issue and they would not agree to a truce for purely humanitarian reasons.

JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim said he would personally attend the talks if the government sent a high-level delegation. JEM has not taken part in talks or any ceasefire with Khartoum.

The other group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), said it would go to Geneva, adding political issues could be raised.

The Henry Dunant centre said it had a mandate only to mediate on humanitarian issues, but did not rule out that political issues could also be discussed between the sides.

JEM said the government recently approached them through Ahmed Ibrahim Diraige, leader of an opposition political movement also invited to Geneva, to discuss peace talks.

Diraige told Reuters he had a provisional agreement from all sides to start peace talks with conditions that there be international mediators, monitors of any ceasefire, and government recognition of a legitimate grievance in Darfur.

He said the Geneva talks were a good chance for all sides to meet and start truce talks. “Why not in Geneva? This is a good opportunity for them to meet face-to-face,” he said.

Diraige said he met First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, who is negotiating a peace deal in Kenya with different rebels to end more than two decades of civil war in the south of Africa’s largest country.

“I told Taha that this conflict is already internationalised and needs an immediate ceasefire…and he agreed,” Diraige said.