Sudan’s Darfur peace talks suspended until January: African Union

ABUJA, Dec 21 (AFP) — Peace talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur’s main rebel movements have been suspended until January, according to a joint statement from the parties released by the African Union on Tuesday.

Sudanese women and children sit in front of a tent on the sand in the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons on the outskirts of the southern Darfur town of Nyala. (AFP).

“The parties undertake to return to Abuja for the next round of the talks on a date in January 2005 to be confirmed by the AU,” it said.

The statement reaffirmed the commitment of both the government and the two rebel groups to respect a ceasefire deal signed in April, and called on AU military observers to step up their mission to monitor the frontlines.

The decision underlined the failure of the fourth round of AU-sponsored peace talks, which made no progress towards a lasting political settlement after Sudan launched a military offensive in breach of the April deal.

But AU chairperson President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and other international mediators did manage to persuade both sides to promise to halt the fighting “to create a conducive environment for the next round of talks”.

“The government of Sudan reaffirms its stated commitment to completely stop its military operations in Darfur and to withdraw its forces to previous positions,” the statement said.

The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) also accepted some of the criticism levelled at them by AU monitors.

“The SLM/A and the JEM also undertake to cease all attacks against humanitarian and commercial activities and to restrain their forces from attacks on government infrastructure, including police posts,” they said.

The Abuja talks, the fourth round in a slow and difficult peace process, effectively broke down on Tuesday last week when rebel delegates suspended political negotiations with the government in protest at its latest offensive.

The AU observer force confirmed that government forces and the allied Janjaweed militia had attacked rebel positions and burned and looted at least eight villages. African leaders demanded that Sudan halt the attacks.

By Sunday, under intense international pressure, Khartoum said it was ready to put a stop to the offensive, but all hope of making concrete political progress in Abuja had by that point seemingly evaporated.

The AU force remains dramatically under strength, with only 834 of a planned complement of 3 200 soldiers and military observers in place. The statement called for contributing countries to deploy rapidly the remaining personnel.