Darfur rebels say power deal first, disarming later

By Dino Mahtani

ABUJA, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Rebels from Sudan’s Darfur region on Thursday rejected calls to disarm or confine their fighters to their bases before a political solution to the conflict is found and implemented.

At talks mediated by the African Union in the Nigerian capital Abuja to end 18 months of revolt in remote Darfur, the Sudanese government agreed to enlarge an AU force in the western region as long as it helps confine rebels to their bases, while Sudanese forces would disarm Arab militias known as Janjaweed.

Sudan has already agreed to about 300 AU forces to protect more than 100 observers of a shaky April ceasefire, including 150 Nigerian troops who are to leave for Sudan on Monday.

But rebels said they would not disarm until a political solution, including power and wealth sharing, is agreed.

“This is impossible. No rebel movement can accept to disarm before a political settlement,” said Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, secretary-general of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), speaking by telephone from Darfur.

“And we must be clear, not just after political agreement but after it is achieved — whether it be one year, however long it takes,” Garda said. In Abuja, another rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement, said it also opposed garrisoning rebels.

Alex Vines of London’s Royal Institute for International Affairs said: “There is an element of brinkmanship, and also a problem of coherency between the rebels in Darfur and those in talks on the outside.”

“It is sensible for the AU to provide a protection force now because it is quicker than a political solution. The humanitarian crisis in Darfur cannot wait a year,” he added.

STORIES OF CONTINUED VIOLENCE

The Nigerian talks are aimed at ending a conflict that began with a rebel offensive in February 2003 after years of low-level fighting between Arab nomads and mainly African farmers over scarce resources.

Since then, more than a million Darfuris have fled their homes for fear of attack by Arab militia mobilised by the government as auxiliaries in a campaign to crush the rebels. Khartoum says the attacks on Darfuris were carried out by “outlaws” and it is not responsible for their actions.

The fighting has created what the U.N. calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Up to 50,000 people have been killed.

The U.N. Security Council has set an Aug. 30 deadline for the government to improve security for refugees and start disarming Janjaweed militias or face possible sanctions.

U.N. envoy Jan Pronk in a joint tour with Sudanese officials met Darfuri displaced who had been raped and attacked by Janjaweed. Thursday’s visit is his last before he reports to Secretary-General Kofi Annan on how Sudan has responded to Security Council demands.

A U.N. official travelling in Darfur said some refugees from Chad were returning home in government-controlled safe areas and that the situation had improved.

But Pronk heard stories of continued violence. Refugees also told him Janjaweed had been absorbed into security squads charged with protecting refugees at the camps.

“There is no security in the camp … There are still rapes,” Darfuri Adam Abdallah told Pronk.

SLM rebels accused the government of using planes and helicopter gunships, with support from the Janjaweed, in attacks on two villages this week that killed 60 civilians. Sudan denied the accusation saying it was the rebels who were fighting.

TALKS ADJOURN UNTIL SATURDAY

The three-day-old talks in Abuja focused on Thursday on the humanitarian situation in Darfur, before adjourning until Saturday afternoon as most of the delegates follow the Muslim tradition of taking Friday as a holiday.

When talks resume the delegations are due to address a series of deeply divisive security issues including enforcement of a ceasefire between the government and rebels, cantoning rebel soldiers, disarmament of the Janjaweed, releasing prisoners and a role for AU troops.

Power and wealth sharing is due to be addressed after the security debate. (Additional reporting by Opheera McDoom in Cairo, Tom Ashby in Lagos and Nima Elbagir in Geneina, Sudan)