Sudan rebels, government hold first direct talks on Darfur

NDJAMENA, April 6 (AFP) — Members of the Sudanese government and rebels on Tuesday held their first direct talks on ending the conflict devastating the Darfur region of western Sudan.

The two sides met in the presence of Chadian President Idriss Deby, whose government is mediating in the Darfur conflict, and international observers, whose participation in the talks was a condition set down by the rebels.

The United Nations says the Darfur conflict, believed to have claimed more than 10,000 lives in little more than a year, is now the world’s greatest humanitarian and human rights catastrophe.

Representatives of the Khartoum government and two rebel movements — the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement (MJE) — were seen entering the same room in the Chadian foreign ministry early Tuesday evening.

The meeting was held behind closed doors and the agenda was not made available to waiting journalists.

Deby and Chadian mediators were also seen entering the talks, alongside observers from the European Union, the UN, the United States and a Swiss non-governmental organisation, the Henri Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

The French junior foreign minister, Renaud Muselier, had met Deby shortly before the face-to-face Khartoum-rebel meeting but was not seen entering the negotiating room.