Sudan boycotts start of Darfur peace talks in Chad

By Nima Elbagir

KHARTOUM, March 31 (Reuters) – The Sudanese government on Tuesday boycotted the opening session of peace talks in Chad with western rebels in protest at the presence of international observers, a source close to the peace talks said.

The talks in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, are designed to end more than a year of fighting between the rebels and the government in the Darfur region of the oil-producing country.

The opening session of the talks, a joint initiative by the United States and European Union, continued despite the absence of the government delegation, the source said.

Sudanese state television said the government delegation had refused to attend meetings “that had not been previously agreed upon.” The delegation was awaiting the Chadian mediator before starting talks, the television added.

It did not say when the government delegation would meet the mediator and start talks. The peace talk source said it was not clear when or if the government would join the talks.

Chadian President Idriss Deby had informed the delegates that the Khartoum delegation would not be attending the opening session with the rebels from the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement, the source said.

A previous round of peace talks between the government and the SLM/A in Chad collapsed late last year.

The rebels had made the presence of international observers a condition for any talks with Khartoum, which said on Tuesday it would offer an amnesty to rebels who signed any peace deal in Chad.

The rebels accuse Khartoum of neglecting Darfur and backing militia who burn and loot villages in the region. Khartoum denies the charges.

A U.N. official this month said pro-government militia were carrying out a Rwanda-style genocide in the region. Khartoum has rejected the allegation.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement issued in N’Djamena on Wednesday, said he was “very disturbed” by the conflict in Darfur, which had “a devastating impact on the lives and well-being of the people.”

“Civilian casualties and serious human rights violations are routinely reported. This is unacceptable and must stop,” Annan said, offering U.N. help in ending the conflict.

“First, the fighting must stop and to this end I strongly encourage all parties to work intensively towards declaring an effective humanitarian cease-fire,” he said. “Humanitarian organizations and staff must also receive safe and unimpeded access to all those in need.”

Separately, the Sudanese government is involved in peace talks with another rebel group in the south of the vast African country, seeking to end a civil war that has ravaged the southern region for more than 20 years.