US warns Sudan rebels against boycott of Darfur truce talks

WASHINGTON, April 17 (AFP) — The United States on Saturday warned Sudanese rebels against boycotting talks next week at which a commission to monitor the fragile truce in Sudan’s western region of Darfur will be created.

The State Department said the boycott, threatened by the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), would show “bad faith” and would negatively affect the groups’ relations with Washington.

“The United States expects the parties … to actively engage in the planning and implementation of the ceasefire monitoring team,” said Joanne Moore, a department spokeswoman.

“Failure of any party to fully participate in this crucial part of the ceasefire agreement is a clear statement of bad faith and will affect our relationship with them,” she said.

Her comments followed a report in a Sudanese newspaper that said the SLM would not attend political talks set for Tuesday in Chad and that the JEM and other groups would not participate in the meeting to create the truce commission to be held in Ethiopia.

The rebels have accused Khartoum and government-backed militias of numerous ceasefire violations in Darfur since the truce was signed on April 11 with Chadian mediation.

The ceasefire, which began on Sunday and is renewable every 45 days, is the third since the conflict broke out 14 months ago. The first two were short-lived.

The conflict, which began a little over a year ago and which the United Nations says is currently the world’s worst humanitarian and human rights catastrophe.

It has claimed more than 10,000 lives and displaced some 670,000 people within Sudan, while another 100,000 have fled to eastern Chad, according to estimates from humanitarian groups.