AU mediators push for solution in Darfur, hold separate talks

ABUJA, June 12 (AFP) — African Union mediators on Sunday resumed separate, closed-door negotiations with parties in Sudan’s Darfur crisis, vowing to push on for a settlement after face-to-face talks had to be postponed the day before.

Chief mediator Salim Ahmed Salim (L) and African Union (AU) secretary general Alpha Konare (R) attend a summit on Darfur crisis in Abuja. (AFP).

“Mediators worked late into the night with delegations from the Sudanese government and the two rebel movements in Darfur. Consultations resumed this morning,” an AU respresentative told AFP.

“It’s non-stop. We are waiting for responses,” he said.

The civil war continuing in Sudan’s western Darfur despite a year-old ceasefire has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

A plenary session planned for Saturday failed to get off the ground and has not been rescheduled.

On Saturday, AU special envoy and chief mediator, former Tanzanian foreign minister Salim Ahmed Salim, however said “there are reasons to be satisfied because when we touch on essential questions, the parties are going in the same direction.”

He did not elaborate, saying only that discussions focussed on “the format of negotiations and the question of representation”.

A bitter sticking point has been over which neighboring countries should participate in this fifth round of peace talks, which formally resumed Friday after a six-month suspension in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

One of the rebel groups opposes any part by Chad, accusing it of siding with Khartoum, while the Sudanese government opposes Eritrea, accusing it of backing rebels.

No deadline has been set ending the current round of talks, taking place in the presence of international observers.

The African Union has insisted that it be the last and that it conclude a political agreement to end the turmoil.

Special UN representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, said mediators hoped for a solution by July but warned against too much international pressure at the moment.

“The situation is much better than before … Many objectives have been reached which create a new situation and a favorable environment for the dialogue,” he told AFP Saturday.

But he said “the dialogue has to be handled wisely, the mediation shouldn’t push too much.

“But before July 9 and the reform of the Sudanese constitution, a solution should be found,” he said.

The war has claimed between 180,000 and 300,000 lives, displaced 2.4 million people and sent another 200,000 fleeing to Chad.

Violence broke out in Darfur in February 2003 when a rebel uprising against the government led Khartoum to unleash Arab militias known as Janjaweed on a scorched-earth campaign.

The Janjaweed in particular are accused of “ethnic cleansing”, torture, rape and intimidation.

Humanitarian officials have warned the situation in Darfur is growing more desperate, with not enough funding to meet the crisis caused by drought, famine and the long-term effects of conflict.

According to the AU mission in Darfur, violent clashes between the two rebel groups, the SLM and JEM, last week claimed 11 lives while 17 people were injured.