Darfur violence threatens peace talks – AU envoy
Jan 30, 2006 (ABUJA) — Worsening violence in Sudan’s Darfur region could jeopardize peace talks to end the three-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, the African Union’s (AU) special envoy said on Monday.
Salim Ahmed Salim said a recent escalation of fighting in the central Darfur region of Jabel Marra and to the west around Kulbus could undermine a consensus being worked out by delegates and mediators at peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
The special envoy urged the United Nations Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council to consider putting in place appropriate measures to ensure compliance with a ceasefire agreement between the two main rebel groups and Khartoum.
“The AU Mediation is utterly outraged by these violations of the ceasefire, the worst this year,” the AU said in a statement.
“The present dangerous turn of events can only overshadow the conducive atmosphere being painstakingly nurtured at the talks, undermine the emerging consensus being worked out and worse still, jeopardize the entire peace process,” added the statement.
The statement did not say what the AU considered to be appropriate measures to enforce the ceasefire but the AU has in the past suggested handing over peacekeeping to a United Nations force, an idea Khartoum opposes.
AU mediators said on Friday the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) could reach a peace deal with the Sudanese government within weeks now that Khartoum has shown signs of softening its position.
Khartoum has said the AU’s recent decision to delay its presidency of the body over concerns about Darfur had provided added impetus to reach a peace deal.
The AU has about 7,000 troops in Darfur monitoring a shaky ceasefire that has regularly been violated by both sides.
On Saturday, a rebel group not represented at the talks, the National Movement for Reform and Development (NMRD), said it had attacked a government military base in the town of Arm Yakui, about 30 km (19 miles) northwest of West Darfur’s main town el-Geneina, and killed 78 soldiers.
The NMRD does not respect a ceasefire between the SLA and the JEM and the government in 2004.
The NMRD offensive came four days after the SLA attacked Golo, a town in the central Jabel Marra region that has changed hands several times in the three-year conflict.
Golo has been a focus for tension as it is now in government hands but overlooked by hills which are a rebel stronghold.
Rebels launched their uprising in 2003 complaining that the government was neglecting their region. About 2 million people have been made homeless by the violence which Washington calls genocide, a charge Khartoum rejects.
Six rounds of negotiation have produced a ceasefire with partial effectiveness on the ground, but major issues such as power and wealth sharing, are only now being discussed seriously.
(Reuters)