AU denounces Sudanese rebel group for incompliance with cease-fire

Sept 3, 2005 (Khartoum) — The African Union (AU) on Saturday lashed out at Darfur’s main rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), for incompliance with a cease-fire deal in the troubled region.

The AU special representative to Sudan “condemns not only the provocative banditry” of the SLA but also its refusal to cooperate with the AU’s mediation, the AU said in a statement.

SLA forces attacked Arab nomads in Malam, about 100 km north of Nyala, capital of South Darfur, killing several people, kidnapping seven and stealing 3,100 camels, according to the statement.

The AU warned that the Malam attack coming so close to the resumption of the Abuja peace talks, scheduled for Sept. 15, “not only destabilizes the quiescent security situation on the ground, but also impacts negatively on the talks.”

The SLA’s non-cooperation “casts doubts on the commitment” of the group to supporting the Abuja talks, which are aimed at ending the two-year conflict in Darfur, the AU said.

Clashes flared up in Darfur in February 2003 when local farmers took up arms against the government, accusing it of neglecting the barren area. Thousands of people have been killed and more than a million displaced in the region.

Rounds of peace talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels in Abuja have failed to finalize a peace deal.