Darfur talks in Nigeria to go ahead as planned: Chadian mediators
NDJAMENA, Aug 13 (AFP) — Peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups from its western Darfur region will go ahead as planned in Nigeria despite rebel complaints about the timing of the talks, Chadian mediators told AFP on Friday.
“For the Chad-African Union (AU) mediation, there is no question of pushing back the August 23 start date,” said a spokesman for the mediation team, Allami Ahmat.
One of the main rebel groups, the Movement for Justice and Equality, told AFP Thursday it was willing to negotiate but said it could not make it to Nigeria before September 5. A spokesman complained that August 23 had been a unilateral choice by the AU.
The other main rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army, has also expressed doubts as to whether it could send reprentatives to Abuja.
Ahmat insisted however that “the date was agreed following discussions with the highest officials of two rebel movements”, which have been fighting the government and its Arab militia allies the Janjaweed in Darfur since February 2003.
“It has also been agreed that the delegations must be represented at the highest level at the Abuja talks,” said Ahmat.
“We are surprised to hear that the date for the talks was decided on a unilateral basis, given that the place for the talks was chosen following a suggestion from the rebels,” he added.
In Khartoum, the government said on Friday it was willing to resume negotiations with the rebel groups in Nigeria.
“We are ready to go to any corner of the world to negotiate a settlement to the political issue in Darfur,” State Foreign Minister Naguib al-Khair Abdel Wahab told AFP.
“We have responded positively to an invitation by the African Union for participation in the negotiation in the Nigerian capital on August 23 and we believe this date still holds as we have not until now received a word from the AU on any change,” Abdel Wahab said.
The conflict in Darfur has left between 30,000 and 50,000 people dead according to the United Nations. The fighting has displaced some 1.2 million people, with up to 200,000 people seeking refuge over the Chadian border.
The parties to the conflict held informal peace talks with AU and Chadian mediators in Libya on Thursday. A ceasefire agreement reached on April 8 has been widely ignored by both sides.