Khartoum names delegation to talks with Darfur rebels

KHARTOUM, Aug 22 (AFP) — Sudanese Agriculture Minister Majzoub al-Khalifa, who led the government delegation in previous rounds of talks with the Darfur rebels, will again head Khartoum’s team in Abuja Monday, state media announced.

He will be accompanied by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Najuib al-Kheir, Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs Mohammed Yussef Mohammed, and Sudan Women’s Union representative Badria Abul Rahman, the official Sudan News Agency said Sunday.

Monday’s bid to end the 18-month civil war in Darfur, which the United Nations says has sparked the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis, follows the breakdown of talks between the government and the two rebels factions in Addis Ababa last month.

The one-day peace conference is to be held under the auspices of the African Union and chaired by its current head, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.