SLM-Abdel Shafi to participate in Darfur civil society meeting

January 11, 2010 (DOHA) — A Darfur rebel group announced today its participation at the upcoming consultation meeting with the civil society to be held in Doha next week but asked to delay peace talks with Khartoum.

The Sudan Liberation Movement led by Ahmed Abdel Sahafi confirmed on Monday its participation at the consultative meeting between rebel groups and the civil society scheduled for January 18.

Abdel Shafi had been opposed to the Doha process asking Khartoum to provide security to the civilians before to engage peace process. Also the group which is part of Addis Ababa group supported by the US envoy, had said rebel reunification should be done before peace talks.

Ahmed Fadul Abdallah, the spokesperson of the rebel faction, told Sudan Tribune they will participate in the meeting with the civil society as part of a delegation representing Addis Ababa group.

Abdallah further said they asked the mediation to delay the direct talks with the government in order to have the necessary time to finalize the ongoing efforts to hold their unity meeting in Darfur.

“The mediation promised to study our request with other partners and facilitators,” he said.

Yesterday speaking from the capital of Burkina Faso Ouagadougou after a meeting with the French foreign minister, the Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole said the Doha meeting between the government and rebels on January 24 intends to commit the parties to a truce and agree the modalities of the talks.

Several rebel factions met last August in Addis Ababa with the support of the US envoy Scott Gration and agreed to hold a unity meeting in Darfur within 60 days. However the group failed to organize the meeting due to security reasons and rejected a proposal to hold its conference in Libya.

The members of Addis Ababa group are : the SLM- Abdel Shafi, SLM Unity, URF of Idriss Abu Garda, URFF of Yousif Ibrahim Izat, SLM- Karbino, and a group of splinter commanders from Abdel Wahid Al-Nur.

(ST)