Sudan government, Darfur rebels extend ceasefire

NDJAMENA, Nov 5 (AFP) — The Sudanese government and rebels in Sudan’s western Darfur region have agreed to extend a ceasefire while they pursue negotiations in neighboring Chad, the official radio said late Tuesday.

It cited a joint communique saying that the ceasefire agreed September 3 would be extended another 10 days to allow the rebels of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) to prepare annexes to a projected overall peace pact.

The government and the SLM resumed talks at Abeche in eastern Chad on October 26 in an attempt to stem a conflict that is estimated to have cost 3, 000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have streamed into Chad.

The rebels demand economic development of the semi-desert Darfur region, which lies near the Chad border.

A first round of talks in Abeche produced a 45-day ceasefire that took effect on September 6 and remained in force even after it expired on October 18.

However, each side has accused the other of violating the truce, which would amount to a first step toward ending a rebellion that erupted in February.

Sudanese newspapers said that with Chadian President Idriss Debe chairing talks late Tuesday in Abeche, delegations from both sides endorsed a continuation of the ceasefire and a resumption of negotiations on December 4.

Sudan’s official Al Anbaa daily, reporting from Abeche, said the ceasefire statement provided for freedom of movement of people through the region and for granting relief organisations access to people on both sides.

The SLM leadership last month voiced fears that the group will be wiped out by government troops if Khartoum reaches an agreement ending its 20-year war with the southern rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

The government-SPLA negotiations are taking place in Kenya.