BREAKING NEWS: Key Darfur rebel group boycotts Libya peace talks

October 23, 2007 (LONDON) — Hopes for a Darfur peace accord were dealt a severe blow today after a key Darfur rebel group decided to boycott the upcoming peace talks mediated by an AU-UN team in Libya.

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) issued a strongly worded statement in which they formally turned down the invitation to attend the peace talks. The surprise announcement came hours after six rebel factions said they will also skip on the talks.

In a brief statement posted at the JEM website, its spokesperson said that the leadership received an invitation for the chairman and four-member delegation each. The statement said the decision to boycott the talks was made after consultations with its allies.

JEM decided to boycott Site talks after consultations with its SLM-Unity faction people familiar with the matter told Sudan Tribune.

JEM’s participation is considered crucial to the success of the Sirte talks because of the movement’s military power. The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) faction led by Abdelwahid al-Nur who has rejected the current peace process and JEM are the two holdout groups which refused to sign the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in May 2006.

Analysts say that JEM’s refusal to attend the peace negotiations set to commence on October 27 in Sirte is likely to contribute to the failure of the efforts by the AU-UN team headed by Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim.

State Department officials talking to Sudan Tribune said that the US will be present at the talks despite JEM’s decision.

The rebel group said that the mediation team has failed to pick the real powers involved in the conflict saying that small rebel groups were invited.

JEM blasted the AU-UN mediation team saying it has no clear vision on how to push forward the political process and that it has “failed to formulate a clear agenda for Sirte talks”.

Earlier this month, Ibrahim Khalil said U.N. and AU mediators were lagging behind schedule in organizing the talks and determining what groups should attend. He said JEM would not negotiate with multiple factions that have limited support.

“If the mediation fails to decide this very precisely, JEM will not come to Tripoli,” Ibrahim warned.

At least 200,000 people have died in the western region and more than two million more fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels rose up three years ago drawing a scorched earth response from the military and allied militias.

(ST)