Chadian FM, Sudanese rebels discuss peace in Darfur

November 1, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Chad’s foreign minister, Moussa Faki Mahamat met with representatives of three holdout rebel groups in Darfur to discuss ways to achieve peace in Sudan.

Leading members from the Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM), Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel-Wahid El-Nour (SLM-AW) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said in a joint statement on Saturday they met with the Chadian ministerial committee led by the foreign minister in Ndjamena.

According to the brief statement, the meeting, which is held at the initiative of the Chadian government, discussed the “peace process in Sudan particularly in Darfur and the two sides emphasized the need to push forward the process”.

The rebel groups were represented in the meeting by al-Rayah Mahmoud (SLM-MM), Mohamed Mahmoud (SLM-AW) and Ahmed Tugud Lisan (JEM).

The meeting comes within the efforts undertaken by the Chadian government to facilitate a peaceful settlement of the nearly 12-year conflict in Darfur.

President Idris Deby last March sponsored a tribal meeting in Um Jaras, a town near the common border with the Sudan; and called on the traditional leaders to persuade their sons to lay down arms and read a negotiate peace saying the Sudanese conflict affected cross-border trade and development.

The meeting which was attended by his Sudanese counterpart, Omer al-Bashir, tasked him to contact the rebel groups and to convince them to join the peace process.

Meanwhile, the head of the government’s liaison committee with Darfur rebel movements, Siddiq Wadah, said that JEM and SLM-MM agreed to join the peace process through the government-led national dialogue.

He told the government-sponsored Sudan Media Center (SMC) website on Saturday that he received unequivocal acceptance of Minni Minnawi and Gibril Ibrahim to join the peace process through the national dialogue and the upcoming talks in Addis Ababa.

Last week, SLM-MM said it received an invitation from the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to engage in talks with the Sudanese government in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 22 November.

In September, the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) called on the warring parties in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states and Darfur region to discuss a cessation of hostilities agreement, before participating in a national dialogue process aiming to achieve peace and reach an agreement on constitutional reforms.

(ST)