Darfur rebels say peace talk country should blame Khartoum for crisis

CAIRO, Aug 6 (AFP) — A main rebel group from Sudan’s strife-torn western Darfur region called for the next country which hosts peace talks to acknowledge that Khartoum is responsible for the humanitarian crisis.

“We expect the country which wants to welcome the talks will ascribe responsibility for the humanitarian crisis to the regime and recognize the legitimacy of the Darfur cause,” the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) said.

However, in the same statement, the group, which said it represented the Darfur cause, demanded the “neutrality” of the country which hosts the talks.

International efforts to broker a crucial peace between Khartoum and two rebel groups from the region, the SLM and the Equality Movement (JEM), ran aground last month after the rebels walked out of talks in Addis Ababa.

The two sides are expected to sit down together by the end of August although no date or venue has been set, according to the African Union.

Khartoum has said it will accept any of the five countries proposed by the rebels to host the talks: Libya, South Africa, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.

The SLM also said the 30 days given to Khartoum by the UN Security Council last Friday to disarm the Janjaweed militia accused of committing atrocities against black civilians in Darfur gave the government enough time for the job.

In New York, a UN spokesman said the Sudanese government, under the threat of UN sanctions, had approved a 30-day action plan to ease the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and begin disarming the outlaw groups.

Up to 50,000 people have died in Darfur, according to the UN, and some 1.2 million more have been displaced since rebels launched an uprising early last year.

The Darfur rebellion, which started as a grassroot revolt in February 2003, has spawned what the UN calls as the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis.