Sudan urges Darfur rebels to join peace accord

May 12, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omarel-Bashir on Friday called on Darfur rebel groups which refuse to accept a peace deal to change positions and participate in the peace process.

Addressing the closing session of a ruling National Congress Party conference, Bashir said that those movements should choose peace.

“If they don’t do that, Darfur citizens and the international society will overpass them,” he warned.

He said that the government “does not want to leave anyone outside the peace agreement and it wants to take in everyone.”

The government signed a peace agreement with Minni Arkou Minawi, leader of the biggest faction in the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), in the Nigerian capital Abuja on May 5.

But the rival faction in the SLM led by Abdu al-Wahid al-Nour and another smaller rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Khalil Ibrahim, rejected the peace agreement, claiming that it did not meet all their demands, including a Darfur regional government, a post of Sudanese vice president and compensation for victims of the conflict.

The African Union, which sponsored the Abuja peace negotiations, has asked al-Nour and Ibrahim to announce their positions on the peace deal before a deadline of May 15, warning that a refusal would lead to international sanctions.

The president also reiterated the government’s commitment to the complete implementation of the peace agreement, saying “it is important to stabilize the situations in Darfur.”

He said that the government would do its best to keep good relations with Sudan’s neighboring countries, especially Chad and Eritrea, adding that the peace agreement would be in danger if there is no stability in border areas.

(ST)