Darfur mediator says talks between Khartoum and JEM to resume soon

May 13, 2010 (NDJAMENA) – Peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) will resume shortly in Doha, announced the Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole on Thursday.

“We are preparing to resume negotiations, suspended because of the electoral calendar in Sudan,” Bassole told reporters after a meeting with Chadian President Idriss Deby in Ndjamena.

The peace talks had been suspended last April due to the general elections in Sudan. Last week Khartoum announced that its delegation would be in Doha on 15 May to resume negotiations with the rebel groups.

On 2 May, JEM froze its participation in the Doha peace talks citing “continuous aerial and ground assaults” on its forces. It also blamed the mediation and the hybrid peacekeeping mission for not denouncing Sudanese army attacks which breach a truce they had agreed in a framework agreement signed on 23 February.

Khalil Ibrahim JEM leader who is currently in Cairo, accused Qatar, host country of the peace process, of favoring the Sudanese government and helping Khartoum to involve small factions that have no genuine presence of the ground at the negotiating table.

He also said they want a reform for peace process but stressed they do not seek an alternative to Doha.

Bassole told reporters in the Chadian capital he would meet with Khalil Ibrahim to discuss with them the resumption of the talks.

“The Sudanese government delegation will travel to Doha on May 16, and I will meet personally with the JEM Chiarman, Khalil Ibrahim, to determine with him the terms of the resumption,” said Djibril Bassole.

“I asked the assistance of President Deby, who provided me with some advices that I would take in consideration to finalize the peace process in Doha,” he added.

Chad brokered the framework agreement and played a considerable role to facilitate the talks between the government and the rebel group.

The hybrid peace keeping mission in Darfur UNAMID warned yesterday that Sudan Armed Forces and JEM rebels are massing troops in Shangil Tobaya, North Darfur.

The mission further reported that 70% of the displaced populations in the area have left their camp in Shangil Tobaya fearing clashes.

In a statement released today from Doha, Hashim Hamad Abdel-Rahman, deputy secretary general of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) which signed a frame work agreement and a ceasefire with the government on 18 March, said they monitored troops buildup and number of violations that claimed a number of unarmed citizens.

Hashim urged the international community to stop sending “negative signals” to the Sudanese government particularly after the end of the “rigged” elections. The rebel official urged to keep international pressure on the Sudanese government.

There are over 300,000 people killed in Darfur and displaced 2.7 million people since 2003, date of the Darfur rebellion that Khartoum mobilized army and militiamen to fight it.

(ST)