Western Sudan rebel leader promises ceasefire

Nairobi, Kenya, Jan 24, 2004 (PANA) — Western Sudan rebel leader Ahmed
Ibrahim Diriage has reportedly agreed to an immediate
ceasefire in the country’s Darfur region from where an
estimated 95,000 people had fled to Chad because of
worsening humanitarian situation.

The leader of the Federal Alliance, one of the rebel
groups fighting in Darfur, was quoted at a meeting with
Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Osman Taha in Nairobi
Friday as saying the end to blood letting was a prerequisite
for the resumption of peace negotiations with the Khartoum
government.

“Diriage (pledged) to exert his efforts to persuade
fighting parties to stop violence and return to
negotiations,” Taha’s office said in a statement.

It said the two leaders “agreed that the proper way for
settling the political problems and differences would be
through responsible political dialogue.”

At the meeting, both sides agreed that violence would
not solve Sudan’s problems, which they classified as
both political and economic in nature, the statement
added.

Diriage, was quoted as saying the cessation of fighting
would improve the humanitarian situation in the area,
where several aid workers have been reported killed.

Aid workers claim the attacks on villages in Darfur were
carried out by forces allied to the government, amid
reports of rape and abduction of girls in the area.

The rebel forces have also accused Khartoum of arming
militias to force black African villagers to flee so as
to abandon their land for Arabs.

They accused the Khartoum government of discrimination
against Darfur people.

Taha insists that government is ready for talks with the
rebels and would work hard for peace, the statement added.

The Khartoum government and rebel leaders are holding peace
talks in Kenya to end Sudan’s 20-year-old civil war.