No talks until Arab militias disarm – Darfur rebel
KHARTOUM, July 24 (Reuters) – A rebel leader from Sudan’s troubled western Darfur region said on Saturday his group would not talk to the government until it honoured commitments to disarm Arab militias.
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim’s statement cast doubt on a United Nations announcement that Darfur’s two main rebel groups were ready for talks to help end what the U.N. says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
“JEM will not have any direct contact with the government and will not start any political negotiations … until the government meets preconditions which are the terms of the ceasefire signed … on April 8,” Ibrahim said from Eritrea.
The JEM has set disarmament of the Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, as a key precondition. The rebels and Khartoum have accused each other of truce violations.
The JEM and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) launched a revolt against Khartoum last year, charging the government with arming the Janjaweed to loot and burn black African villages.
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said on Friday the JEM and SLM had agreed at a Geneva meeting with special U.N. adviser Mohamed Sahnoun to participate in “substantive political negotiations” on Darfur.
Peace talks hosted by the African Union were suspended last week when rebels walked out after Khartoum rejected some of their preconditions.
The U.N. estimates at least 30,000 people have been killed in the crisis and that some 1.5 million have been made homeless.
A U.S. congressional resolution this week branded atrocities in Darfur as genocide.
Sudan said all arms of government had been working to resolve the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur.
“On the security side, 5,000 police have been mobilised across the three states of Darfur and all of the police stations that were attacked by rebel groups have been reopened,” the Information Ministry said in a statement.
“By last week, 90,000 internally displaced people out of the 212,000 displaced due to tribal fighting have returned to their villages of origin.”
Khartoum’s figure of 212,000 for the number of displaced people differs with the U.N.’s estimated 1.5 million.