Curfew imposed, meetings banned in northwestern Sudanese region

DARFUR/NAIROBI, Dec 22, 2003(dpa) — A volatile region in northwestern Sudan is under overnight curfew following the collapse of peace talks last week, it was reported Monday.

Authorities have also banned public meetings in Darfur, an area in which government troops and a rebel group called the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) have been battling since near the beginning of the year.

Talks between the government and the SLA broke down in Chad December 16 because of what Chadian mediators called “unacceptable demands” by the rebels.

Major towns in Darfur were then issued overnight curfews in which movement is restricted from 1900 to 0700 GMT, the BBC reported.

The SLA claims that Arab militias that have been attacking and raiding in the area are being backed by the Sudanese government, while the government claims that the militias are criminals with no government backing.

Some analysts have described the conflict as being an “ethnic cleansing” of dark-skinned populations by the government and Arab militias.

More than 750,000 people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the U.N.’s children agency (UNICEF).

The Darfur conflict has not been discussed in the on-going peace talks in Kenya between the Sudanese government and the country’s main rebel group, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/Army.

Opposition leaders warn that, unless the situation in Darfur is addressed, any peace deal signed between the two will be ineffective.