Warring parties in Sudan’s Darfur region due to meet in Addis Ababa
ADDIS ABABA, July 15 (AFP) — Sudanese government and rebel officials were Thursday due to start political talks aimed at ending a devastating conflict in the western region of Darfur, according to the African Union (AU), which is hosting the meeting in Addis Ababa.
Khartoum and the two Darfur rebel groups which rose up in February 2002 — the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movment (SLA) — signed a humanitarian ceasefire in April, but the deal has not stopped fighting on the ground.
The insurgency prompted a heavy-handed response from government forces and allied militia groups known as Janjaweed, who have been widely condemned for human rights abuses.
The UN has described Darfur, where more than 10,000 people have died and over a million been displaced, as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Widespread agricultural disruption has prompted fears of mass starvation.
The AU has adopted the crisis as a test case for its determination to seriously address security problems across the continent. Darfur dominated discussions at a major AU summit in Addis Ababa last week.
The Sudanese government delegation at the talks is led by Agriculture Minister Majzoub al-Khalifa Ahmed and will include the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Tigani Salih Fidhail, and Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Mohamed Yussef Abdullah.
It was not immediately clear who would represent the rebels.
According to an agenda released by the AU, the meeting will first focus on the AU’s nascent ceasefire observer mission in Darfur, which is to be bolstered by a 300-strong armed protection force by the end of July.
The parties will then present their “vision and position on issues to be discussed during the political dialogue” before agreeing on an agenda, the composition of delegations, and timetable for further in-depth discussions.
Khartoum in particular has come under intense pressure, not least from the AU, to rein in the Janjaweed and prosecute those guilty of war crimes.
On Monday, the US characterised the Sudanese government’s response to this pressure and its own pledges as “more words than action.”
A resolution on Darfur is currently in the pipeline at the UN Security Council.