Eritrean president talks with Sudan about Darfur
Dec 22, 2006 (ASMARA) — Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki this week held talks with a Sudanese government delegation to boost dialogue aimed at ending a conflict in the troubled Darfur region, officials said Friday.
Issaias met the delegation, headed by Sudanese presidential assistant Nafie Ali Nafie, in the Eritrean Red Sea port of Massawa on Thursday, they said.
Asmara last month offered to broker peace between Khartoum and Darfur rebel groups, who refused to sign a May African Union-mediated peace deal that has failed to restore stability in the volatile Sudanese belt.
“Both sides exchanged views on ways of taking measures towards holding dialogue among the Sudanese government and Darfur opposition parties,” according to a statement posted on the information ministry website.
They talked about “resolving the Darfur issue” and ways to contribute “promoting comprehensive peace in the Sudan”, it added.
Recently Ahmed Diraige, the chairperson of the Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance (SFDA), one of the many Darfur factions, said he remained positive on the possibility of talks.
“They [Khartoum] are being pressurised by the international community to come and talk to us, and if they solve our problems they may find a way out without international intervention,” Diraige said.
In June, the SFDA merged with Justice and Equality Movement rebels and one of the three Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) factions and formed the larger National Redemption Front.
One of the three SLM factions signed the peace accord with Khartoum.
Asmara mediated peace between Khartoum and eastern Sudan rebels, Eastern Front, that ended 12 years of insurgency, resulting in the signing of an accord in October.
The war in Darfur erupted in February 2003 when rebels from minority tribes took up arms to demand an equal share of national resources, prompting a heavy-handed crackdown from the Sudanese government forces and their Janjaweed proxy militia.
According to the United Nations, at least 200 000 people have died of the combined effects of war and famine since fighting erupted almost four years ago in Darfur. Some sources say the toll is much higher.
(AFP)