AU warns over Darfur violence as peace talks resume
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 15 (Reuters) – The African Union warned warring parties at Darfur peace talks Thursday that failure to compromise could produce the kind of devastation wrought by a separate conflict in Sudan’s south.
“Twenty years of conflict in the south has shown that war is not a solution,” African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said, referring to bloodshed that has killed more than 2 million people since 1983.
“Nothing can justify the conflict in Darfur. It is unacceptable. We should work frankly and with a will toward peace. We should be able to make mutual concessions. For Sudan the only way is political dialogue.”
A rebellion in the remote western region of Darfur broke out last year after long conflict between African villagers and Arab nomads.
The rebels accuse the government of arming Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, to loot and burn African villages in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Khartoum denies the charge.
At the ceremony, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement declared itself ready to talk, but said Khartoum’s bombers and allied militia were still attacking civilians.
The meeting at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa will discuss the status of a shaky cease-fire, disarmament of combatants, the humanitarian situation and deployment of African Union cease-fire monitors, African Union officials said.
The United Nations says the fighting has displaced more than 1 million people, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. As many as 30,000 people have been killed.
The situation has gained increased urgency with the arrival of the rainy season, which aid workers say will hamper humanitarian operations.
Despite pressure from the 53-nation African Union, the United Nations and the United States, Darfur peace efforts remain difficult.
CALL FOR PEACEKEEPERS
An early sign of tension emerged before the opening ceremony when a Justice and Equality Movement official said the group would not enter substantive discussions with Khartoum because the government had not honored any agreements so far.
Ahmed Tugod Lissan, Justice and Equality Movement general coordinator, said he would only sit in the same room as Khartoum officials to put three conditions for his group’s participation in peace efforts.
He declined to elaborate, but added that Justice and Equality Movement wanted the international community to send a peacekeeping force.
However, another Justice and Equality Movement official, Ahmed Hussain Adam, signaled the group was ready to participate fully. “We did not take up arms to fight, we took up arms for a just cause. If the dialogue takes us there we are ready (to talk),” he said.
“Unfortunately, we cannot say the other party, the government of Sudan, is committed,” Adam said. “Attacks by Janjaweed militia killed 17 civilians Wednesday.
“We still have villages being burned down, government aircraft are bombarding us and we have 77 innocent civilians killed by Antonov aircraft bombardment.”
Justice and Equality Movement took up arms last year with a second rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement.
The negotiations, expected to start in earnest Friday, are chaired by the African Union, the United Nations and Chad, with the United States and European Union attending as observers.
After U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s visit to Sudan this month, Khartoum vowed to disarm the militias, allow unrestricted aid access and speed up peace talks.
Khartoum signed a truce with the two rebel groups on April 8, but both sides have accused each other of violations.